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Newcastle joins battle over compulsory job cuts
More than 80 NUJ members in the north east of England are to ballot for industrial action over job cuts.
Journalists at Trinity Mirror’s Chronicle and Journal group in Newcastle notified management of their decision earlier this week.
They want to stop compulsory redundancies.
Strike ballots over cuts are already taking place at Trinity Mirror’s West Midlands companies and at Signal Radio in Stoke-on-Trent.
There have been stoppages this year over compulsory redundancies at Yorkshire Post Newspapers, the Record and Mail in Glasgow, and at Newsquest’s York and Darlington centres.
Jeremy Dear, NUJ General Secretary, said: “The attack on jobs in the media has been relentless for the past 12 months. Companies failed to invest in their businesses during year after year of record profits. Now they are slashing and burning, trying to keep earnings high with no regard for jobs or readers and advertisers.
“The national union is proud to support our members all over the UK who are standing up for jobs and standing up for journalism.”
The proposed Newcastle cuts would mean 18 editorial jobs losses. There was a previous round of redundancies in November last year.
Chris Morley, NUJ Northern Organiser, said: “In Newcastle people are overworked and at the end of their tether because of constant cuts and reorganisations.
“The decision to ballot for industrial action shows how strongly chapel members feel.”
The ballot in Newcastle is part of a union-wide campaign against media cutbacks.
10 July 2009
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