NUJ begins early day motion against Newsquest
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Parliamentary Group has begun to write to its members as it begins an early day motion against planned redundancies being made by publisher Newsquest.
NUJ President Peter Murray has written to union members to ask them to contact their local MPs and local groups, councils, family and friends to lobby against the redundancies set to be made by the publisher.
This week journalists in Glasgow at The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times voted to ballot against compulsory redundancies being made, while 48-hour strike action took place at Newsquest chapels in Southampton and Brighton.
Newsquest Warrington has also voted to ballot for action against a pay freeze, while ballot results for strike action in Blackburn, Bradford, Bolton and York have also been ‘overwhelming’ the NUJ claims.
A model letter has also been issued to members to send to the MP’s, explaining the situation and to ask them to support the Early Day Motion.
“Newsquest continues to generate huge profits and the latest accounts for parent company Gannett UK show that the highest paid director enjoyed a £108,000 hike in his overall pay to £609,235 last year. Excessive payments for senior managers expose the corporate greed doing so much damage to Newsquest papers and websites,” the letter claims.
“We are urging Newsquest to enter into meaningful discussions with the NUJ at all levels to resolve the disputes by protecting jobs and investing in the journalism of its titles and websites to meet the needs of local communities and advertisers,” it continues.
As another part of the motion, the NUJ has also created a Newsquest section on its website which it will upload with campaign materials and updates on the situation.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Herald is rumoured to be set to undergo a redesign and possible rebrand, with reports suggesting that it may become a news magazine next month.