STRIKE action among journalists at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers is to escalate yet again, to last three days, starting a minute after midnight on Friday morning.
It follows a 48-hour walkout on Friday and Saturday by members of the National Union of Journalists, which itself followed 24-hour strikes the previous two weekends.
The action is over compulsory redundancies recently announced by publishers, Trinity Mirror, involving 24 staff. In between the strikes, there is a work-to-rule.
This morning, the NUJ and management meet at arbitration and conciliation body, ACAS.
Afterwards, NUJ Scottish Organiser, Paul Holleran, is speaking at a meeting about health and safety, taking place at the STUC annual conference in Perth.
“Concerns about health and safety pre-date this dispute at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail,” said Holleran. “With so many staff being made redundant, the situation can only get much worse.”
The STUC is to also debate today an emergency motion condemning the compulsory job cuts.
On Saturday, at their party spring conference, SNP members backed a resolution from Kenneth Gibson MSP, calling on Trinity Mirror to negotiate with the NUJ rather than enforce compulsory redundancies.
Mr Gibson – who will be leading a debate on the future of the two newspapers in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday – said: “Scotland has a proud journalistic heritage. The Sunday Mail and Daily Record are iconic Scottish titles, making significant profits for Trinity Mirror. Compulsory redundancies are not the way forward.”
