BBC radio staff to strike

Hundreds of BBC radio production staff are to strike on February 15 and 23 in protest at jobs being merged, their union Bectu announced today.

The union said the walkout, by around 500 workers, will hit radio programmes including Radio 1’s Chris Moyles show and programmes on Radio 4 including Front Row and You And Yours.

The union is in dispute with the corporation over plans to merge a number of production jobs into a single role.

Union members voted last year by 60% in favour of taking industrial action.

Bectu officer Luke Crawley said: “Our members are saying that they are prepared to strike because they are not happy with the BBC’s proposals.

“The ball is now firmly in the BBC’s court. If they want to get in touch, we will consider any new developments.”