View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
April 21, 2005updated 22 Nov 2022 3:08pm

Union makes FoI bid to see secret BBC job cut papers

By Press Gazette

By Caitlin Pike

The NUJ has served a Freedom of Information request on the BBC in a
bid to obtain background documents relating to swingeing job cuts
announced last month.

Its request demands access to minutes, correspondence and copies of
analysis and reports provided to BBC governors before they approved
director general Mark Thompson’s plan to cut almost 4,000 jobs and sell
off parts of the corporation.

The NUJ has also asked to see records or details of communication between the BBC and the Government over the past year.

NUJ
general secretary Jeremy Dear told Press Gazette: “We hope this move
will demonstrate that insufficient analysis and checks have been
carried out to ensure cuts don’t damage and devalue programmes or act
against the interest of licence fee payers.

“Secondly we hope it
will reveal that there has been communication between the BBC and
government showing that cuts were made at the request of government.”

“We
are constantly told that every care was taken to ensure the savage cuts
would not affect quality, standards, programmes or the health and
safety of staff – but we’ve never been shown any evidence, not even a
single piece of paper to back such wild claims up.”

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

The request
for documents from the BBC also asks for details of any actions taken
by the governors to ascertain the views of staff in relation to the
cuts.

Many are understood to be particularly angry at what they
regard as a secretive process which failed to incorporate any staff
consultation.

The corporation has to respond to the NUJ’s request
within 20 days, and although there are some exemptions when it comes to
the BBC and FoI, Dear believes that they do not apply to the
information the NUJ has asked to see.

If BBC management do reject
any of the requests, Dear has asked “that they justify all deletions by
reference to specific exemptions of the act” and said he would appeal
if the request was denied.

The request comes in the same week NUJ
members at BBC News 24 began a protest at work – withdrawing all
“goodwill” – in response to job cuts planned for the channel (see page
5).

Other BBC departments are expected to follow. The joint union
ballot of staff across the BBC for industrial action begins today and
closes on 11 May.

Topics in this article :

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network