BBC staff are to strike on May 23, May 31 and June 1 in protest at director-general Mark Thompson's proposed job cuts, as unions confirmed three days of strike action today.
Members from broadcasting union Bectu, the National Union of Journalists and Amicus overwhelmingly voted for strike action yesterday 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.
Luke Crawley, Bectu advisor, said: "This is a clear signal to Mark Thompson that he is going too far, too fast, in his plans for changes. We've got an overwhelming mandate for strike action, proving that the director-general is badly out of touch with his staff."
If the strike continues into summer, coverage of Wimbledon in June will be severely disrupted.
The earliest the strikes could have taken place is Friday May 20 because the unions did not give notice until 11am today and a legal seven-day loophole would prevent strike action before this date.
Despite the FA Cup being safe, the walkouts at the end of May and the beginning of June will seriously affect programme making and output.
It may also cause a blackout of live shows such as 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross', 'Today' and 'Newsnight' as well disrupting filming on BBC soap stalwarts, 'EastEnders' and 'Holby City'.
A BBC spokeswoman said: "We regret that the unions have decided to take industrial action. By threatening the BBC's output, the unions put at risk the BBC's relationship with the public, which is not in anyone's interest.
"Industrial action will not remove the need for further consultation or the need for the BBC to implement changes, which will enable us to put more money into improved programmes and services.
"We will, of course, do everything we can to bring the best possible service to viewers and listeners during any industrial action."
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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