This is taken from The Guardian:

[b]Unions: BBC governors 'hiding from the truth'
bu Julia Day
Monday May 16, 2005

BBC unions have accused the governors of "wilfully ignoring" staff after they refused to meet them to discuss planned cuts at the corporation.

The leaders of the National Union of Journalists and the TUC claim the governors are "running away from the truth" after the chairman, Michael Grade, said he it would be "inappropriate" for the governors to talk to the unions.

In a letter to the TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, Mr Grade said: "It is inappropriate for the governors to engage in formal or quasi-formal consultation with the unions."

The NUJ general secretary, Jeremy Dear said: "Michael Grade and the rest of the governors are hiding from the truth and betraying licence fee payers.

"They talk to government and management but wilfully ignore the voice of those who actually make the programmes. They are clueless about the real impact these cuts will have on quality and the ability of BBC staff to continue to produce the same standard of programmes.

"They are happy to approve plans to axe thousands of front-line staff while preserving tier upon tier of management.

"Somehow governors seem to believe that you can ask 80% of the staff to produce 100% of the output and not compromise quality.

"They believe you can pile additional responsibility for budgets, health and safety and contract negotiations on to already hard-working programme-makers and not affect the quality of programmes.

"They must believe in Santa Claus and flying pigs if they cannot see the damage that will be done".

Mr Barber said the TUC had long supported the BBC but the cutbacks proposed by the director general, Mark Thompson, would have a negative impact on quality.

"Trade unionists know the value of an independent, impartial and authoritative news service alongside top quality entertainment. That is why we want to see the BBC strengthened in the process of charter renewal.

"But that is not going to be achieved with savage cuts, forced through at the expense of programme quality, leading to a demoralised workforce. That's why I am strongly backing the joint unions' campaign and the call for genuine negotiations on all the proposed changes."

However, the BBC board of governors strongly rejects the accusations from the unions, saying Mr Grade cannot meet with staff through the unions because there needs to be a distinction between the BBC governors and management - and only one channel of official consultation with staff.

"There needs to be clear water between the role of the governors and the role of the BBC management," said a statement from the corporation.

"It is the governors' role to ensure that the value-for-money plans are in the best long-term interests of the BBC and licence-fee payers. It is the role of the executive to ensure they are implemented appropriately, which includes full union consultation.

"For this reason it is inappropriate for the governors to engage in formal, or quasi-formal consultation with the unions."

BBC staff have already planned four 24-hour walkouts from next Monday, May 23, in protest at plans to cut 4,000 jobs.

The strikes, planned by the NUJ, broadcasting union Bectu and Amicus, will run from midnight to midnight, with news coverage likely to be hardest hit.