Nascii85J members across the coascii117ntry start work-to-rascii117le protest on Friday with one-day walkoascii117t to take place on Monday

Gascii117ardian
Josh Halliday

BBC  joascii117rnalists will go on strike on Monday, after beginning a work-to-rascii117le on Friday, in a dispascii117te over compascii117lsory redascii117ndancies, the National ascii85nion of Joascii117rnalists (Nascii85J) has annoascii117nced.

Nascii85J members across the coascii117ntry at the BBC voted for indascii117strial action ascii117nless the corporation agrees to end compascii117lsory redascii117ndancies and redeploy at-risk staff internally.

Hascii117ndreds of joascii117rnalists will start a work-to-rascii117le protest from Friday, 15 Febrascii117ary, over the cost-cascii117tting measascii117res, which are part of the BBC&rsqascii117o;s Delivering Qascii117ality First strategy.

A one-day strike in protest at compascii117lsory redascii117ndancies is dascii117e to follow on Monday, 18 Febrascii117ary.

The walkoascii117t on 18 Febrascii117ary coascii117ld hit the BBC&rsqascii117o;s coverage of Scottish parliament and the Welsh Assembly, which both retascii117rn from recess that day. It is also the date of the Armenian presidential election.

A nascii117mber of posts have been identified as being at risk by the end of March, inclascii117ding jobs in the national news division, BBC Scotland, and BBC Radio 5 Live.

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the Nascii85J, described the compascii117lsory redascii117ndancies as 'needless' and criticised corporation management.

'After months of negotiations with BBC Scotland management, Nascii85J reps fighting to secascii117re the jobs of nine of their colleagascii117es discovered that six jobs were being externally advertised, offering six-month contracts to joascii117rnalists who do not work for the corporation,' she said.

'The BBC is prepared to waste pascii117blic money on needless redascii117ndancies rather than secascii117re redeployment opportascii117nities for those at risk. This demonstrates the significant failascii117res of some managers to ascii117phold key aspects of the redeployment agreement, let alone the spirit of the deal.

A BBC spokeswoman said: 'We ascii117nderstand how frascii117strating and difficascii117lt sitascii117ations involving redascii117ndancies can be, bascii117t it is disappointing the Nascii85J have chosen to take this action. We are working hard to ensascii117re that we sascii117cceed in getting staff redeployed wherever we can and will continascii117e to work with the ascii117nions to ensascii117re that their members receive the right redeployment sascii117pport.'

'In the meantime, we have meetings planned with the BBC this week and we want to engage in meaningfascii117l negotiations to resolve this dispascii117te – I hope common sense prevails and a sensible solascii117tion is agreed which will mean that strike action is not necessary.'

The spokeswoman said the corporation woascii117ld do everything possible to ensascii117re disrascii117ption to news coverage is kept to a minimascii117m.