Trade unions BECTU and the National Union of Journalists have collected more than 1,200 signatures against the proposal for phased closures of seven subsidised nurseries announced by the BBClast year (News, 14 December 2006). The closures will begin in late 2007 and the last nursery will shut in 2010.
A BBC spokeswoman confirmed that 4.1m saved from the nursery closures would be put into programming as part of the institution's commitment to broadcasting.
The BBC argues that only 7 per cent of the 3,000 staff who have pre-school-age children have access to its nursery places, so administration of a childcare voucher scheme would be fairer. Campaigners say that this is an argument for expanding rather than terminating the nursery services.
Manon Edwards Ahir, a parent leading the campaign in Cardiff where 80 children attend the BBC Acorns Nursery, said, 'One of the main arguments put forth by the BBC Executive was that not all staff with children benefit from the onsite childcare provision. In Cardiff, this is definitely not true. Anyone here who wants a space for their child in the creche will get that space - they just have to wait and that can sometimes take up to a year, but then the child will be at the creche for another three years.'
The BBC nursery in Bristol, which is uniquely run by a committee of parents, has been told it will have to close by the end of November.
Jonathon Pressor, a committee member and parent, said, 'The nursery building is on the market. It's a house down the road from the main building and worth a lot of money. It seems the BBC has a wider remit to look at where it can make savings and look for ways to sell off property.'
