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September 8, 2006updated 22 Nov 2022 8:56pm

Strike vote at Telegraph over cull of 54 journalists

By Press Gazette

NUJ members at Telegraph Group are balloting on industrial action in protest at proposals to make 54 journalists redundant.

NUJ members claim there has been a lack of consultation over the cuts – which they is in contravention the union house agreement – and they have rejected the threat of compulsory redundancies.

The job cuts come at the same time as the Telegraph titles move from Canary Wharf to Victoria.

At the same time as the office move, management is bringing in radical changes to editorial production which include integrating digital and print journalism and scrapping the job title of sub editor. The new "hub" desk layout at the new office is pictured.

The NUJ believes production journalists will be most badly hit by the proposed job cuts.

NUJ national officer for newspapers Barry Fitzpatrick said: "We deplore the fact that they had months to consult about these plans but failed to do so. We realise that changes are necessary in some areas because of what is happening in the industry, but none of this makes it acceptable for a highly profitable enterprise like The Telegraph to alienate and ignore staff in this way.

"Management have behaved in an extremely underhand manner and we continue to have no faith that they intend to consult meaningfully."

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The decision to ballot on industrial action was held at a meeting of the Telegraph Group NUJ chapel attended by around 100 staff yesterday.

The new round of cuts follows 90 redundancies made in February last year – they would bring the total editorial staff headcount at Telegraph Group down to 376.

In addition to the editorial cuts management plans to make 24 administrators and 55 staff from "other departments" redundant. The total staff headcount at Telegraph Group is around the 1000-mark.

 

 

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