BBC journalists are set to go on strike later this month after NUJ members passed a unanimous vote in favour of industrial action.
Seventy-two per cent of members voted in favour of a strike and 87 per cent voted for industrial action short of a strike, according to the NUJ.
Thousands of journalists will now hold a 48-hour strike unless the corporation scraps compulsory redundancy plans.
A motion passed by members yesterday said: ‘We note the dismissal of an NUJ member in the BBC World Service on the grounds of compulsory redundancy last month, despite viable redeployment options being available.
Related
‘We reiterate the policy of no compulsory redundancies among NUJ members and call on the BBC to resolve the outstanding cases. We believe there are workable solutions in all cases. We further note that there are many volunteers that the BBC is currently refusing to release.”
Journalists also branded executive pay at the BBC a ‘toxic issue’which had ‘seriously damaged the corporation”.
‘Pay levels at the top continue to be unacceptable – particularly at a time when NUJ members are threatened with compulsory redundancy,’members said in a statement.
If the BBC fails to address the issues raised they will authorise NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet to call NUJ members out in industrial action.
Earlier this month the union claimed 100 editorial jobs face the axe at BBC World Service and that there are further 30 posts under threat in the BBC’s Television Current Affairs department and 43 journalism jobs at risk in BBC News.
The BBC is not commenting on how many editorial jobs are under threat and said that dialogue, not industrial action, is ‘the best way to resolve this issue”.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
