300 must reapply for TM jobs — 65 will fail
ALL 300 editorial staff at Trinity Mirror’s Midlands titles are being forced to reapply for their jobs in the most drastic restructuring yet ordered by a regional newspaper group.
The journalists based in Birmingham and Coventry have all been made redundant and 65 of the jobs will go altogether as TM plans to set up two new multi-media centres in the cities to produce the three daily papers — the Birmingham Post and Mail and Coventry Telegraph — the Sunday Mercury and 30 weekly titles as well as a range of websites, using a new web-based content management system.
NUJ members reacted with fury and called for a ballot for industrial action against the plans.
They immediately wrote to the company saying the move “creates uncertainty for employees and their families and is hugely damaging to staff morale.
“The chapels feel they have been rushed into this action by the fast pace at which these changes are being introduced.” They condemned what they saw as possible pay cuts and asked for guarantees that staff would be given training and equipment for their new roles.
“We oppose any situation where someone is only given the chance to stay on with the company at a lower salary.” The letter insisted that “multimedia image journalists” — the new name for photographers — are paid the same rate as “multimedia journalists” — the new reporting role — because members see the roles as equally skilled.
“We do not believe our readers will be best served by reduced numbers of journalists expected to take on extra work which will inevitably leave them less time for news gathering and investigation.”
The letter goes on: “The NUJ welcomes new technology but deplores the sledgehammer way it is being introduced as a knee-jerk reaction to the economic downturn, without indicating how this will enhance revenue raising opportunities.
“We do not believe our readers will be best served by reduced numbers of journalists expected to take on extra work which will inevitably leave them less time for news gathering and investigation.”
General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: “The announcement represents a massive blow to journalism in the Midlands.
“The NUJ condemns these cuts, which will inevitably hit these papers — and the communities they serve — hard.
“Let’s be clear: Trinity Mirror is cutting back on quality at its newspapers in pursuit of short-term, share price driven goals. It just goes to show how little the company values its readers in comparison to the demands of the City.
“You simply can’t take dozens of journalists out of your local operations and continue to report news to the same standard. Bosses at the company are sacrificing quality journalism to appease the short-term whims of the financial markets.”
Staff have been given until September 12 to apply for the new positions.
Last year TM put all the papers up for sale but failed to get the price it wanted. Some of the weeklies are again on the market. The union fears they will be closed if no-one buys them.