Thousands of journalists from the British BBC began a 48-hour strike at midnight against the reform of the pension funds of the British broadcasting corporation.
The strike was initiated by around four thousand members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). This has caused significant disruptions in programming as some highly viewed radio or television shows were not aired or were shortened. Most of BBC’s news programs will not be broadcast, and the 24-hour news program will air news only occasionally. Protests are planned throughout the day in front of BBC offices across the country. If this strike does not yield results, another is announced for November 15 and 16.
Negotiations between BBC management and its journalists broke down in October when 70% of NUJ members (who represent approximately one-third of BBC employees) voted against the management’s final offer, which was accepted by other unions. The reform aims to reduce the deficit in BBC’s pension funds, which currently amounts to around £1.5 billion, and it is expected that employees will have to work until the age of 65 instead of 60 and contribute a larger portion of their salary to the pension fund than before. (www.hrt.hr)
