BBC journalists to strike over job cuts - union

LONDON (Reuters) - Journalists at the British Broadcasting Corporation are planning to go on a one-day nationwide strike next week over job cuts, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said on Monday.

NUJ members at the BBC will walk out on February 18 and stage a work-to-rule from Friday, unless the broadcaster stops compulsory redundancies and redeploys those at risk elsewhere in the corporation, the union said in a statement.

The redundancies form part of a five-year programme to cut 2,000 jobs at the publicly funded broadcaster.

"The BBC is prepared to waste public money on needless redundancies rather than secure redeployment opportunities for those at risk," NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said in a statement.

The BBC said it was disappointed by the strike action and had scheduled a meeting with the NUJ later this week to try to reach a solution.

"We are working hard to ensure that we succeed in getting staff redeployed wherever we can and will continue to work with the unions to ensure that their members receive the right redeployment support," a BBC spokesman said.

As well as broadcasting in Britain, the BBC World Service reaches about 180 million people in 32 languages through its radio, TV and online services.

(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian)