IFJ Backs Fight Over Jobs and Cash Cuts at BBC World Service

The International Federation of Journalists is calling for solidarity from journalists worldwide with staff working on the Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Nepali and Sinhala sections of the BBC World Service who have launched a campaign to protest against off-shoring of programming to the Indian sub-continent in what is described as a "money-saving adventure" at the expense of standards. The journalists, all members of the National Union of Journalists of Great Britain and Ireland, say the BBC is compromising professional integrity by entering into agreements with governments and subsidiary companies in the Indian sub-continent. Nearly 60 South Asian journalists are involved in protests that are being launched at national and international level. The IFJ Executive Committee and the European Federation of Journalists have added their voices to the protests of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Britain and Ireland and say that will turn the protest into an international campaign across the globe. The BBC's off-shoring policy is threatening 70 years of first class journalism says the NUJ and the corporation is risking the identity of the World Service by producing programmes that mimic local radio stations in Pakistan, India and other places in South Asia - damaging its unique brand and journalism. "These off-shoring plans are ill-founded and put at threat not just jobs but editorial quality, integrity and the future of the World Service," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "We hope all IFJ unions will add their voices to the protests over the planned changes which fly in the face of agreements with staff and unions." Click here to download sample protest letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown For more information contact the IFJ at +32 2 235 2207
 The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 122 countries worldwide