BBC staff step up fight to save jobs from cutbacks

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) reps agreed to step up a work-to-rule action that started in Scotland on Friday.

The union said it would announce strike dates soon unless the BBC scraps compulsory redundancies.

The BBC's deceptively named Delivering Quality First programme involves more than 2,000 redundancies and service cuts in a bid to slash its spending by a fifth.

The NUJ said BBC bosses hadn't found other jobs for staff whose posts have been axed despite advertising vacancies.

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said journalists had been forced into action because bosses weren't redeploying workers.

"This lack of engagement is particularly entrenched in BBC Scotland where nine members face losing their job at the end of March."

She said an employment tribunal victory last week had uncovered faults with key elements of BBC procedures.

"NUJ members at the BBC are determined to ensure that no one else loses their job because of such pointless bureaucracy and managerial intransigence.

Ms Stanistreet called on the BBC to "engage meaningfully" with the union "rather than waste public money on needless compulsory redundancies."

NUJ BBC organiser Sue Harris said it was "madness" that the BBC was advertising job vacancies while laying off qualified staff.

"It is a waste of money and talent," she said.

And NUJ Scottish organiser Paul Holleran said warned that specialist reporters could be lost and "result in a serious dumbing-down of output."

BBC journalists in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Selkirk and the Scottish Parliament began working-to-rule at midnight on Friday.

More compulsory redundancies are planned at Newsbeat, Five Live, Big Screens, Asian Network and the World Service.

Local BBC radio and TV centres are also affected.

The 20 per cent cuts over the next five years come on top of 7,000 job losses since 2004.