Herald journalists vote for strike
The Herald and Times office in Glasgow.
By Bill Heaney
Scotland’s newspaper industry is facing death by one thousand cuts.
The latest blow is that journalists working for Newsquest titles in Glasgow have voted in favour of strike action over job cuts.
The action would affect The Herald, The Herald on Sunday, the Glasgow Times, The National and the Sunday National.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said 86.7% of participating members had backed action.
Last month it was reported Newsquest had invited applications for voluntary redundancy at the Herald and its Sunday stablemate as a cost-saving measure.
Management was also said to have warned that compulsory redundancies might be necessary unless an unspecified number of journalists volunteered to leave.
Several high-profile Newsquest journalists took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that they had opted to leave the publisher by the end of the year.
They include The Herald’s chief reporter, David Leask, and social affairs correspondent, Stephen Naysmith.
NUJ Scotland organiser John Toner said: “Such a firm vote in favour of industrial action demonstrates the strength of feeling among our members faced by yet another round of jobs cuts, and the increased workloads that reduced staffing levels bring.
“We have already begun constructive talks with Newsquest management, and we are confident that these will continue.
“I am in no doubt that the employer will take on board the anger and frustration that have been expressed through this ballot.”