BBCi 'not affected' by hard-hitting strike action

Despite empty buildings and the cancellation of live shows, today's strike by BBC workers has left Auntie's online offerings relatively untouched.

The walkout, the first of four possible strikes, saw members of the National Union of Journalists, Amicus and the BBC's technology workers' union, Bectu, take part in the one-day walkout in protest at thousands of proposed job cuts and part-privatisation of the BBC.

According to Bectu (Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union), support was particularly strong in areas such as London and Belfast, with only one of the 1,000 plus staff of the Northern Irish operations at work today.

Bectu's Luke Crawley said he hopes the walkout will send a clear message to the BBC's director general that he has to negotiate with the unions, and added that the cuts will make it harder not easier for Auntie to justify the licence fee.

Around half of the Beeb's staff turned up to work, the BBC said, leaving the corporation forced to cancel or curtail some live programmes as union members picketed outside key BBC buildings.

The BBC's TV and radio news output has been the hardest hit.

One area of the corporation unaffected by the industrial action, in spite of the walkout by technology workers and journalists alike, is BBCi: Auntie's online presence.

A BBC spokesman said the "BBC News front page and key stories [are] being updated as normal".

A BBCi worker added that it was "pretty much business as usual in new media".

"The news service is working with reduced staff but is being updated regularly throughout the day," he said.

However, not all of Auntie's dalliances with technology have proven so problem-free. Chris Moyles, presenter of Radio 1's Breakfast Show and one of a few DJs to break the strike, complained his webcam wasn't working today.

The next one-day strike is planned for 31 May.