BBC employees in England who are members of a journalism union have voted in favor of a strike that would be the first major industrial action at the British public broadcaster since 2010. It comes amid a debate about changes that the public broadcaster has unveiled to its local content strategy in England.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said on Tuesday that in a postal vote, in which 69 percent of union members made their opinions heard, 83 percent came out in favor of a strike.
The walkout could also affect coverage of the May coronation of King Charles III, NUJ members have said. But a union meeting place later on Tuesday was set to decide on a detailed course of action.
The BBC has said that it was keeping its local content budget steady, while using £19 million ($23 million) for online and multimedia production instead of traditional broadcast services amid changing audience usage.
“The plans commit to boosting daily online news provision for 43 local areas and delivering a wider range of local audio programming,” the BBC said in October. “The BBC aims to maintain its overall investment in local services, but the changes will see around £19 million reprioritized from broadcast services towards online and multimedia production, to keep pace with changing audience expectations.”
In 2010, BBC staff went on a 48-hour strike amid a pension dispute.
