BBC strike action called off as agreement reached
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has cancelled planned strikes over job cuts at the BBC.
Union members had voted by over 70 per cent for strike action over the corporation's plans for job cuts which was expected to affect 500 people in BBC News and the World Service.
The agreement was reached following talks between the union, BBC director-general Tony Hall and Valerie Hughes-D'Aeth, the corporation's new head of HR. The deal includes a promise of a moratorium on compulsory job losses across BBC News until the end of March 2015. The BBC has also said there willould be no voluntary redundancies before the end of December 2014 unless agreed by the trade unions.
Commenting on the breakthrough NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “We’re pleased that common sense has prevailed and that a sensible solution has been negotiated."
A spokesman for the BBC told the Drum: "Following constructive discussions with the unions we're pleased that they’ve decided not to serve notice to strike. We hope that we will now be able to resolve this dispute."