BBC “Disappointed” As Staff Plan Industrial Action Vote Over Job Cuts

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC‘s plan to cut more than 100 journalism roles will be put to an industrial ballot amid unrest over the UK broadcaster’s £500 million ($664M) savings strategy.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) will ballot members next month over newsroom redundancies, with members voting on whether to take strike action or other industrial measures, such as work to rule.

BBC News announced last week that the division will close more than 100 roles over the coming months, saving £5.5M. BBC News still needs to find at least another £20M to hit its minimum goal of £51M in savings.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, the BBC’s deputy director general, emailed staff about the NUJ’s decision on Wednesday, saying the ballot was a “disappointing development.”

“Over recent months, we have had extensive and constructive discussions with the NUJ and been clear that we will do everything possible to minimise compulsory redundancies. We’ve backed that up with action too – a large majority of the redundancies agreed to date have been achieved on a voluntary basis,” Talfan Davies said.

“Faced with a £500 million financial savings challenge and significant operational pressures, we cannot offer a guarantee that there will be no compulsory redundancies. Whilst we will continue to do everything possible to minimise this, the reality is that no organisation of our scale and complexity could offer such an undertaking and it would inevitably compromise our service to audiences if we did.”

The NUJ ballot will run from November 3 to 24. It is separate from a second ballot on pay, which closes on November 5. The BBC has increased its pay offer to a 1.5% rise or a minimum of £1,000, depending on which is higher. The corporation previously offered a 1% rise or a minimum of £500.

The BBC has also ditched controversial changes to staff terms, including slashing usage for night shift workers. The NUJ and Bectu have a neutral position on the BBC pay offer, meaning they have neither endorsed nor denounced the deal.