Anger over plans for more cuts at Newsquest’s Glasgow papers
Staff at the Herald group of newspapers will ballot for industrial action, if owners Newsquest threaten any member with compulsory redundancy.
Management announced plans in May to cut 40 jobs — including 20 in editorial — across the group.
The plans met with an angry response at a mass meeting where members expressed fears for the future of the titles, which have seen four rounds of job cuts since Newsquest, owned by US conglomerate Gannett, acquired the titles five years ago.
Ian Bruce, FOC at The Herald, said: “Staff are sending out an unequivocal message that we can’t afford any further cuts to our operations without inviting a disastrous impact on quality.
“The chapel has made it clear that if there is a move toward a single compulsory redundancy then we will automatically call for a ballot for industrial action.”
The NUJ’s Glasgow-based President James Doherty also addressed the mass meeting. He said: “Five years ago, Newsquest gave a commitment to the Competition Commission that it would invest in jobs and journalism in Scotland.
“Five years down the line, at The Herald alone, we’ve seen the number of editorial jobs cut by more than a third, from 186 to 113 — and that’s despite the company delivering £17.1m in profits from the Glasgow operation alone to its US shareholders.”