Members from broadcasting union Bectu, the National Union of Journalists and Amicus have today voted for strike action after three weeks of ballots across the BBC.
An overwhelming 77% of Bectu's members voted to strike and 84% of NUJ members came out in favour. Amicus figures have yet to be released.
Luke Crawley, Bectu supervisory official, said: "This is a ringing endorsement of the action of the joint unions and shows the determination of our members to stop Mark Thompson's damaging job cuts and save the BBC."
The earliest the strikes can take place is Friday May 20 because the unions will not give notice until 11am tomorrow and a legal seven-day loophole will prevent strike action before this date.
Unions are therefore likely to stage 12- and 24-hour walkouts at the end of May and the beginning of June, which will seriously affect programme making and output.
It may cause a blackout of live shows such as 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross', as well disrupting filming on BBC soap stalwarts, 'EastEnders' and 'Holby City'.
The ballot, launched after talks broke down following a three-hour meeting between Thompson and union representatives on April 12, was seen by the unions as unavoidable because the BBC director general was not prepared to delay the proposed cuts to allow an "in-depth discussion" about the future of the corporation.
Thompson could only promise that no redundancies will be made until June, but could not guarantee that all the job cuts would be voluntary.
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