BBC journalists to stage 48 hour strikes

Journalists at the BBC's Arabic service will stage a 48-hour strike from tomorrow in a dispute over rotas.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said its 160 members would have to work an extra 26 shifts a year under changes being "imposed" by management.

NUJ official Laura Davison said: "If the proposals are pushed the quality of output will suffer, and so will the people producing that output.

"Our members believe a strike is the only means they have left of making management listen to them."

A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC considers this strike action to be unjustified. BBC Arabic staff are being treated no differently to other parts of the BBC, and these changes to shift patterns are in line with current practice across other areas of the organisation.

"We know the high esteem that audiences have for BBC Arabic across the Middle East and will take measures to ensure that all BBC Arabic programming and online services continue uninterrupted.

"The BBC is committed to finding a constructive way forward in dialogue with staff and is open to further meaningful discussions."