Link to this page: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/374/6129
From The Socialist newspaper, 11 December 2004
BBC jobs under threat
NEW BBC director general, Mark Thompson, has announced cuts of £320 million a year, which will result in thousands of job cuts. About 3,000 jobs are expected to go, over 2,000 people will be expected to move to Manchester by 2008.
The jobs, mainly in administration departments, will be cut over the next three years through redundancies and outsourcing.
These cuts are to prepare for the renewal of the BBC's charter in 2007, where the BBC gets its right to be funded by the licence fee.
Molly Cooper, a member of the national executive of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), told the socialist, in a personal capacity:
"The announcement of up to 6,000 job cuts in the BBC is driven by the desire of New Labour and their paymasters in the media, to see the break up of a publicly-funded BBC. And with it the break up of trade union organisation and agreements for journalists.
"Journalists in the BBC organised in the two media unions, NUJ and BECTU, are now engaged in a political battle with the government to defend their jobs, terms and conditions, and the very future of public-sector broadcasting.
"The NUJ pledge to resist any job cuts, with strike action if necessary, must now be supported by all trade unionists, with the NUJ and BECTU planning joint action to resist these attacks."
ITV IS also planning to cut 50 jobs from its regional newsrooms in Leeds and Manchester. ITV bosses have said they might need public money to continue producing regional news. The NUJ has protested to media regulator Ofcom, pointing out that these job cuts are likely to threaten the quality of future regional news output.
Ofcom will publish the final phase of its review of public service broadcasting early next year.
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In The Socialist 11 December 2004:
Socialist Party campaigns
Private contractors rip off public services
Saving pensions: united action needed
International socialist news and analysis
USA: Poverty in the world's richest country
Concrete steps towards formation of new party
Italy stops in fifth general strike against Berlusconi
Belgium: Fighting the fascists in Gent
Socialist Party workplace news
Challenge to UNISON'S Labour links by UNISON general secretary candidate
Fighting the fire service cuts
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