The head of the National Union of Journalists has said its members are prepared to strike “as and when needed” against cuts caused by the BBC funding deal agreed in July.
In an interview with the Guardian, NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said union representatives made it clear at a meeting on Wednesday that they were prepared to “take strike action to defend jobs and to defend members at risk”.
The statement is the strongest indication yet that the BBC will face stiff opposition from the union if it decides news programming will be pared back to help make up the £700m cost of providing free licence fees to the over-75s.
Stanistreet said BBC director general Tony Hall should have stood up to the government when it proposed the “shabby, stitched-up deal”.
“The very straightforward thing to do in the face of unacceptable governmental pressure and interference would be to say ‘fuck off, do your worst, we’ll fight that’,” she said.
She also criticised local newspaper groups for claiming BBC coverage was undermining their ability to survive, saying: “Anybody who believes that the crisis that has been facing local and regional newspapers in the UK is a consequence of the BBC’s commitment to quality content or public service broadcasting as an ethos is living in cloud cuckoo land.”
One of the BBC’s most strident critics in the local press – Ashley Highfield – is on the panel advising culture secretary John Whittingdale on the government’s approach to BBC royal charter renewal, which is expected to look at all aspects of the corporation’s activities.
Hall has attempted to placate regional media by offering to share resources, including journalists, with local newspapers. However, Stanistreet said the offer was “foolhardy”.
“The devil is going to be in the detail, which is not available as yet, but I would be deeply concerned about the BBC funding reporters to work for commercial newspaper groups, who should be funding proper quality local coverage themselves.”
Stanistreet – who has held senior positions at the NUJ since 2006 – said proposals to reform laws governing union activity will make illegal strikes “inevitable”.
“It’s the biggest assault on trade unions that has ever taken place in this country,” she said. “The bill is, in some ways, beyond parody. It would make taking lawful industrial action nigh-on impossible. It transfers all the leverage and power to the employers. And, frankly, it’ll make unlawful strike action and industrial action an inevitable consequence.”
