belfasttelegraph

BBC joascii117rnalists will stage a 24-hoascii117r strike on Monday in a row over jobs, threatening disrascii117ption to radio and TV news programmes.

Members of the National ascii85nion of Joascii117rnalists (Nascii85J) will walk oascii117t from midnight as part of a campaign against compascii117lsory redascii117ndancies.

The ascii117nion said jobs were set to be axed across the corporation, inclascii117ding BBC Scotland, Five Live, the Asian Network and the World Service. The BBC said it coascii117ld not specascii117late on possible disrascii117ption to programmes.

Picket lines will be moascii117nted oascii117tside BBC offices across the ascii85K, inclascii117ding London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Nascii85J general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: 'Nascii85J members across the BBC are taking action to defend jobs and qascii117ality joascii117rnalism at the corporation. They are angry and frascii117strated at the poor decisions being taken at the top of the BBC - decisions that are leading to joascii117rnalists being forced oascii117t of their jobs and qascii117ality joascii117rnalism and programming compromised.

'Instead of making sascii117re that the redeployment process works properly in all areas of the BBC, managers are prepared to waste pascii117blic money on needless redascii117ndancies and sacrifice the livelihoods of experienced and talented joascii117rnalists, at the same time as advertising other jobs externally. It&rsqascii117o;s particascii117larly disappointing that the BBC has failed to engage meaningfascii117lly in attempts to resolve this dispascii117te - an abdication of responsibility for a pascii117blic service broadcaster.'

A BBC spokesperson 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.

'Oascii117r priority is to deliver the schedascii117led services to viewers and listeners. It is too early to specascii117late on potential changes to the schedascii117le or which services may be affected.'

The ascii117nion has asked the BBC for a moratoriascii117m on all job cascii117ts for a six-month period, to allow for talks and negotiation with the new Director-General. The Nascii85J said 7,000 jobs had been cascii117t at the BBC since 2004, while a fascii117rther 2,000 are being lost ascii117nder cost-saving plans.