Sports fans are facing a TV blackout of the return of Match of the Day to BBC1 and the Olympic opening ceremony next month, after broadcasting union Bectu revealed plans for strike action over the sale of the corporation's BBC Technology subsidiary.
BBC programming could be disrupted by strike action on Friday August 13, the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Athens, and the following day, when Premiership highlights are due to return to BBC1 after three years on ITV1.
One Bectu official said strike action would last for "at least 24 hours" over August 13 and 14 and the union will be planning for maximum impact, with blank screens on BBC1 and other BBC TV channels.
The union has also set a 48-hour period for strike action from next Friday, July 30.
Bectu members working for BBC Technology, which provides the IT "nervous system" for the BBC's broadcasting and internet operations, voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action earlier this month.
BBC Technology staff man everything from the BBC switchboard to the main control room in Television Centre, through which all satellite links to the Olympics in Athens and Premiership games around the UK are routed.
A spokeswoman for BBC Technology said contingency plans were being drawn up and it was hoped the strike action would not affect "the BBC or the public".
Bectu is opposing the sale of BBC Technology, which would involve the transfer of the outfit's 1,400 staff from the BBC payroll to the private sector, on the grounds that it would not be in the best interests of its members.
"We believe that this sale is extremely damaging to the long-term future of the BBC and at this stage the people who are opposed to the transfer of BBC Technology staff [to Siemens] will resist that transfer until they receive the necessary guarantees on pensions and terms of employment," said the Bectu assistant general secretary, Gerry Morrissey.
"We have every intention of carrying out this strike action," he added.
But a BBC Technology spokeswoman said: "We have been putting contingency plans in place to make sure any industrial action does not affect the BBC or the public. We are hoping that it won't affect [BBC output]."
The ballot, which led to more than 80% of Bectu members in BBC Technology voting for strike action, was over the specific issue of lack of guarantees over pension rights and terms of employment for BBC staff transferring to Siemens, the preferred bidder for the business.
The BBC initially said it could not give any such assurances, but since the Bectu strike vote it has offered BBC Technology staff a guarantee that they can keep the same pension and employment terms for one year after going on the Siemens payroll.
However, Bectu is asking for a three-year guarantee of no change in employment terms or compulsory redundancies, and will be recommending that its members reject the BBC offer.
The Bectu ballot on the BBC offer is due to close next Thursday, July 29.
BBC plans to officially hand over its BBC Technology subsidiary to Siemens on September 1 face a second setback, after it emerged that the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, will not be giving her consent to the sell-off until after she returns from her summer holiday on September 6.
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