BBC journalists nationwide went on strike yesterday in protest at compulsory redundancies.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is facing significant cuts to the central government grants that fund BBC Monitoring and the World Service. A number of compulsory redundancies have already been made and more job cuts are expected in the coming weeks.
Picket lines were mounted outside studios and offices, including the BBC TV Centre in west London and cities like Belfast, Glasgow and Manchester. Meanwhile significant parts of the BBC news network were disrupted due to the strike and there is a warning of more disruption on the way.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is solidly supporting the BBC journalists and staged walkouts that hit several shows on Radio 4 and 5 Live and caused the loss of radio flagships PM and The World at One. NUJ general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet is said to have told strikers they have had messages of support from other unions and members of the public who think that quality journalism is under attack.
Lucy Adams, the BBC's director of business operations, said six out of seven employees were working normally and only limited changes to programmes had been made.
NUJ and BBC bosses will meet for talks next week, on August 11.
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