BBC journalists call off strike as talks set

LONDON: Journalists at British state-funded broadcaster BBC have called off a strike over pensions set for next week after management agreed to meet the union, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said.The strike, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, would have been the second 48-hour walk-out in protest against plans to reduce a large pension deficit by capping the growth of pensionable pay.
The first strike held last Friday and Saturday, disrupted the broadcaster's news programming.
"We welcome the BBC's change of heart and agreement to enter talks following industrial action by thousands of journalists and other BBC staff," the NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said.
Director of the BBC's personnel department Lucy Adams said the broadcaster welcomed the NUJ's decision and had agreed to meet with the NUJ and other unions at the BBC.
The BBC wants to tackle a 1.5 billion pound ($2.41 billion) pension deficit by putting a cap on rises in pensionable pay at 1 per cent after April.
The broadcaster is funded by a levy imposed on all households with television sets. Its funding has been constrained by a government squeeze on public spending designed to rein in a record budget deficit.

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