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The Herald and Evening Times vote to take industrial action following latest round of Newsquest cuts

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By Tony Connelly, Sports Marketing Reporter

August 26, 2015 | 2 min read

Journalists at The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times have voted unanimously to ballot for industrial action following Newsquest’s announcement that it would cut a further 20 jobs at the papers.

The vote for industrial action includes the possibility of strikes across all three titles and is a result of a third round of redundancies at the paper which will see 18-20 editorial jobs go. Newsquest said that the cuts were necessary to “make further savings to compensate for a decline in advertising revenue”.

A statement released by the NUJ argued that the “Newsquest culture of meeting new budgets by cutting jobs and introducing damaging savings which will have a severe effect on editorial”. It also highlighted staff concerns that the current lack of efficiency, with many journalists working excessive hours because of serious problems with staffing levels, was a result of poor management.

Following the vote Paul Holleran, NUJ national organiser, said the “treadmill of redundancies cannot continue” and suggested that Newsquest seeks an interested buyer and sells the titles if its plan is to "shrink the business to nothing”.

The Scottish announcement is the latest round in Newsquest's redundancies which have also affected papers in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Bournemouth. More details are expected tomorrow following talks.

the Herald The Evening Times

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