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Coronavirus triggers huge job losses across the media


THE MEDIA is being hit by one of the worst ever sudden bout of job losses because of the effect of the coronavirus crisis. Thousands of posts are being lost.


The BBC alone is cutting


more than 1100 jobs (see page 5) and newspaper groups, magazines and book publishers are accumulating hundreds of redundancies. The cuts are coming fast


and furious as employers prepare for the Government’s job preservation furlough scheme to end in August. The losses are hitting young and old alike and some journalists are faced with small severance payments despite many years of service. Reach, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, the Express, the Daily Star and many regional


PAT STOCKLEY


newspapers, is to cut 550 jobs. Consultations over the job losses were ongoing as The Journalist went to press. The company plans to centralise its operations, bringing together national and regional teams in a move that it says will avoid duplication of work. It has said it needs to cut costs because of falling revenues. The Guardian is cutting 180


jobs across all its operations amid the expectation that its revenues will fall by £25


million this year. Of those cuts, 110 jobs will go in commercial and other operations and 70 from editorial. Newsquest is making a small number of job cuts across its regional titles. NUJ members have complained of poor statutory terms with one journalist who had 31 years’ service being offered severance of just £10,000. Midlands News Association is cutting 90 jobs overall with 14 going in editorial at the Wolverhampton Express and Star and Shropshire Star. Magazine and book publishing have been badly hit by redundancies with significant losses at Emap, Haymarket, Bauer, the Dennis collective, Conde Naste and Harper Collins.


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THE NUJ has stepped up its campaign for all freelances to have equal access to the UK Government’s income support schemes with a legal challenge. The union says that the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has excluded large numbers of freelance


workers and is therefore discriminatory. The NUJ also argues that the Treasury


has failed to explain the circumstances (if any) in which workers for publicly- funded employers can get support via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. A pre-action protocol letter sent by


Unanimous vote for strike at Bullivant


A BALLOT of NUJ members at Midlands-based Bullivant Media Limited resulted in a 100 per cent vote for strike action and action short of a strike. The Bullivant Media Limited


NUJ chapel was formed in June and includes all 17 editorial staff. The ballot is part of a dispute over pay, jobs and working practices. It follows deductions in


salaries over three months,


growing workloads with fewer staff, and the increasing use of divisive working practices and performance data. The company runs weekly


free papers and websites including the Coventry Observer, Leamington Observer, Rugby Observer, Stratford Observer, Solihull Observer, Redditch Standard, Bromsgrove Standard, Worcester Observer and Evesham Observer.


NUJ members have complained of poor statutory terms with one journalist who had 31 years’ service being offered severance of just £10,000


inbrief...


NEW RISE IN TRADE UNION MEMBERSHIP Union membership has increased for the third year running, according to the TUC. The latest figures show that 91,000 more people joined a union, taking the total to 6.4 million. Much of the recent rises have been driven by women members. There are now more women trade unionists than at any time since 1995.


POLLY CURTIS IS PA MEDIA’S NEW MD PA Media has appointed Polly Curtis, the former HuffPost UK editor in chief as its new managing director. Curtis joins from Tortoise Media, where she was a partner and she has also held senior roles at The Guardian. She will be responsible for the strategic and commercial development of the group’s news agency.


Legal challenge for forgotten freelances


the union to the Treasury argues that the SEISS is unlawful on a number of grounds including that it is discriminatory and irrational and that under certain conditions the scheme violates the European Convention on Human Rights.


NUJ EXTRA VIRUS HELP EXTENDED NUJ Extra, the union’s welfare charity, is extending its support for members affected by the coronavirus until August. Chris Wheal, chair of the trustees, said: “Government support is scheduled to end in August. We intend to match that, making final payments for July and August.”


Recognition win at broadcaster Al-araby


The union has won recognition at the


broadcaster Al-araby. The deal covers approximately 80 NUJ members who work at the Arabic language station which launched five years ago. Paul Siegart, NUJ broadcasting organiser, said: “The NUJ will be


negotiating on pay and conditions but we will also be able to ensure


our members have a say on a range of other issues.”


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