Possibility of a strike action is budding in the IT staff working for the BBC contractor Siemens due to the decision of implementing a pay freeze by the firm. Balloting of the Siemens' employees working under the contract at BBC is being done by Media and entertainment trade union Bectu.

Bectu stated in an open letter addressed to the BBC's Human Resource Director, "We are outraged by some of the pay and conditions that the BBC seem to find acceptable for their preferred contractors to provide their employees. There is a moral obligation on the BBC to ensure that nobody working on a BBC contract is paid less than £7.60 an hour. No one should earn more than 5 times the mean average salary of a BBC employee".

Initially, about 70 contract employees were shed from the BBC's staff and recently the company is proposing a pay freeze on all employees that are working on the ten-year contract. The union has sent out the ballot papers to the employees advising an industrial action of strike.

After the closing of ballot, expectedly on 19th March, the broadcasting union is predicted to announce its result. It is anticipated that over 1,400 former BBC IT staff currently employees of Siemens might have a serious consequent impact on BBC.