Newsroom
FT staff campaign for action
on staffing levels
NUJ members at the Financial Times have launched the latest step in their campaign to combat unsustainable workloads at the paper.
Cutbacks to editorial staffing levels over recent years mean the pressures on journalists have become too great.
NUJ members have been taking part in activities today to mark the start of a campaign for management to take their concerns more seriously.
A newsletter produced by the NUJ chapel committee, which is being distributed to staff today, makes clear NUJ members’ commitment to their work as well as their concerns for the future:
"There are two central elements to the changes that have taken place at the FT over the past four years: new technology; and fewer staff.
“New technology is fantastically exciting for any journalist – it enhances our ability to communicate with an audience of millions.
“The sophistication of the FT and FT.com has therefore grown markedly – we produce multi-layered products that dazzle with the richness of information and the elegance with which it is presented.
“But the sheer potential of new technology means that it inevitably increases the workload on journalists, who find that there are many more demands on them to exploit the technical possibilities to the full.
“New technology therefore means demands for more content – not just displaying the same content in different ways.
“That means we need more reporters, editors and production journalists, not less. Yet staffing has been cut to the bone.”
The chapel is undertaking a survey of stress levels among the editorial workforce to assess the risk posed by low staffing levels to journalists’ health. Union reps have already written to management to raise their concerns and flyers and stickers were today handed out to staff to highlight the NUJ campaign.
NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear, addressed a meeting of the union’s members at the paper as part of today’s campaign day of action. He said: “The FT prides itself on the quality of its journalism. But if you want quality, you’ve got to make the editorial investment that will deliver it.
“Journalists at the FT show an incredible level of commitment. The current standards can only be maintained because of the pride the company’s staff take in their work and the fact they will go far beyond what should be expected of any worker.
“Management need to listen carefully to their journalists: they’re the people who know what counts when it comes to quality, and they’re saying that current situation is unsafe and unprofessional.”
16 December 2009
