BBC programmes in Northern Ireland will be affected by a 24 hour strike. Planned coverage of the local elections have been cut back.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) called the strike to protest about job cuts and changes to programmes. The BBC has already cut output on BBC Radio Foyle and plans to make further changes.
The strike runs from 00:15 on Friday 19th May for 24 hours, taking Newsline off the air and resulting in the curtailment of the BBC’s planned coverage of Northern Ireland’s local election results on BBC One and BBC Two Northern Ireland. Scheduled opt-outs on Friday afternoon to cover the results have been axed, with viewers seeing the normal national schedule instead. Radio schedules will also be disrupted.
The strike mirrors similar action taking place in England, where BBC staff are protesting at cuts to BBC Local Radio services. BBC management have been severely criticised about how they have handled the process. Staff say they have been prevented from speaking out.