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Compulsory cuts threat withdrawn after ballot


THE THREAT of compulsory redundancies at Newsquest’s Scottish titles, including The Herald, The Herald on Sunday, the Glasgow Times, The National and The Sunday National, has been lifted following a large vote for industrial action. Some 86.7 per cent of those voting in an


NUJ ballot supported action over the plan to make compulsory redundancies if Newsquest could not save £500,000 by any other means. Although eight members of staff left voluntarily, the company told the union that it would not seek further job cuts. Six new posts will be filled from external applications. A well-attended NUJ chapel meeting voted unanimously to withdraw the threat of industrial action. The union had also raised the issue of bullying, and it said that the company had dealt with this promptly. John Toner, NUJ national organiser for


Scotland, said: “Our members are heartened that their employer has listened and that no member of staff will be forced to leave. We are


also appreciative of the speed by which the bullying issue was resolved and of the company’s assurance that bullying will not be tolerated. The relief among our members was palpable. “Management has agreed to meet the


union’s reps regularly, and to have routine staff meetings to deal with the problems expressed through our recent stress survey. Any management restructure will throw up issues for our members, and we look forward to working more closely with Newsquest management to create an acceptable working environment.” The NUJ had conducted


a stress survey during the weeks before the company’s original announcement about potential compulsory redundancies. This found: 83 per cent of respondents believed the quality of their title had declined over the past year; 78 per cent said their workloads had increased in the past year; 57 per cent said they were put under pressure to produce work faster than they were comfortable with and just nine per cent said they had confidence in the organisation’s management.


Second bursary in honour of Lyra McKee


THE CENTRE for Investigative Journalism is offering a second Lyra McKee training bursary for people who want to attend its Investigative Journalism Conference on


25-27 June but cannot afford to do so. The bursary is in honour of the murdered journalist and NUJ member, who showed huge determination to


become an investigative journalist despite personal disability and having to care for her disabled mother plus the added difficulty of trying to enter journalism from a


Top dog or dogsbody at work?


IS YOUR job good or bad? Take part in a quiz compiled by Cardiff University and you will be able to see how your position compares to similar jobs and against the average job in Britain. The quiz does not require any identifiable information so the answers you give cannot be traced back to you. By completing the quiz, the anonymous data you provide will be collected and may be used in reports for the NUJ and GMB. It should take only five minutes and you can exit the process at


any point. https://tellmehowgoodismyjob.com/


working class background. The bursary was launched last year and enabled 11 people to attend the conference. https://tcij.org.


“


Our members are heartened that their employer has listened and that no member of staff will be forced to leave


John Toner NUJ national organiser for Scotland


inbrief...


TELEGRAPH PULLS OUT OF ABC AUDIT The Telegraph Media Group has quit the ABC newspaper circulation audit, saying it is no longer a key metric for its subscriber strategy. The last figures showed the Daily Telegraph had an average circulation of 317,817 in December while the Sunday Telegraph had 248,288. Both had declined 12 per cent since December 2018.


GUARDIAN CLOSES CITIES SECTION The Guardian has closed its Cities section after grant money funding it from the Rockefeller Foundation for more than six years came to an end. The section focused on urban environments and climate change and won the Features Journalism prize at Press Gazette’s British Journalism Awards last year.


NEWSQUEST OWNER GIVES OUT £140,000 Newsquest has donated more than £140,000 to 40 UK community groups , including news-related charities, through the charitable arm of its US owner. The Gannett Foundation gave £10,000 each to the Journalists’ Charity and the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ Diversity Fund.


IAIN GRANT WINS BARRON TROPHY Iain Grant, a reporter who has covered the north of Scotland as a freelance and previously editor of the Caithness Courier and John O’Groat Journal, received this year’s Barron Trophy, which recognises lifetime achievement in journalism in the Highlands and Islands.


NEW WEEKLY PAPER FOR SOUTH DEVON Archant is to launch a weekly paper and website in South Devon after a suggestion from local news veterans that there was a demand from residents. The Torbay Weekly will be based in Torquay and is expected to have six dedicated editorial and commercial staff.


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