The threat was enough

NUJ MEMBERS at the BBC’s Arabic Service in London won dramatically improved terms after voting by 80 per cent to take strike action.

Management had failed to guarantee the staffing required to expand the service to cover working on TV, radio and online services for 24 hours a day, which overworked staff said was compromising quality.

BBC global news director Richard Sambrook said openly of the strike vote in an interview in the Guardian: “They have decided they want to work less and be paid more. And the answer is, I’m sorry — you can’t work that way.”

But managers did recognise there was a problem and agreed after talks to four extra jobs, eight filled vacancies, extra pay and better conditions all round, in a comprehensive 21-point agreement.