Journalists working in tv, online and radio at BBC Local (England) have rejected plans put forward by the BBC and look likely to announce more strike dates as well as return to a Work To Rule, which suspended while the ballot took place.
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members took part in 24-hour strike action in March over the BBC’s plans to cut local radio services, significantly reducing output after 2pm on weekdays and weekends, and providing only 48 hours of weekly guaranteed local programming. A second day of strike action to coincide with last week’s local elections was postponed while members considered the BBC’s latest proposals.
The NUJ undertook a consultative ballot of members following a revised plan from the BBC removing the risk of redundancy from 300 journalists, alongside new guarantees on redeploying those who would lose their roles. Stress risk assessments and three extra pairs of weekend breakfast shows had also been proposed by the BBC.
56 per cent of members voted to reject the broadcaster’s offer, and 44 per cent to accept. Work to Rule will now resume at midnight tonight. A meeting of BBC Local reps in England will take place later this week, to determine the next steps in the dispute including consideration of new strike dates.
Paul Siegert, NUJ national broadcasting organiser, said: “Members have made it clear that without a fair proposal that keeps BBC Local Radio local and stops the output being drastically cut, strike action will continue. We urge management to listen to what their own staff are saying, along with politicians from all parties and 5.7 million listeners.
“It is vital the BBC return to negotiations with a proposal that keeps its millions of listeners at its core, recognising the huge role journalists play in delivering these much-loved programmes.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We’re obviously disappointed with the result of the NUJ ballot. We will continue to engage with the Union as we have done over the last few months in an effort to minimise the impact on our staff and our audiences.
“We have a plan to modernise local services across England – including more news journalists and a stronger local online service – which will see no overall reduction in staffing levels or local funding. Our goal is a local service across tv, radio and online that delivers even greater value to communities.”
