Staff working for the BBC World Service’s South Asia section will take part in a 24-hour strike beginning at midnight tonight, to protest plans for 34 redundancies in London and the relocation of the production of broadcasts in Urdu, Hindi and Nepali to Islamabad, Delhi and Kathmandu.
Unions have spent eight months negotiating with the BBC over the plan, but have not succeeded in getting the changes they wanted. Earlier this month, staff of the South Asian section voted overwhelmingly for strike action. The National Union Journalists (NUJ) says that the strike isn’t just about jobs, but safeguarding the editorial integrity of the World Service.
BBCWS said ”We believe the proposals will create new opportunities for staff and greatly improve our service to our audiences in the region.”
on Feb 25th, 2009 at 21:51
i am hopeful that the bbcws south asian service staff do not go on strike…