SCOTTISH Government intervention, to force a change in the way the Herald group of newspapers are being reorganised, has been ruled out.
Said Scottish Enterprise Minister, Jim Mather, last night, he was unable to intervene in the forced redundancies at the group’s three titles – The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times – which has seen all but a handful of staff told to re-apply – by Monday – for an estimated 40 fewer jobs.
He said: “Unfortunately, [the group’s] approach is legal, although it sits very uncomfortably with Scottish values, standards and aspirations for industrial cohesion in what are challenging times.
“I am sure that, in their heart of hearts, the local management know that these drastic actions play badly in Scotland and I sense both their embarrassment and their desire to find a better way.”
Mather was responding to a debate among MSPs, on a motion criticising the reorganisation, presented by the SNP’s Sandra White MSP.
Mather echoed the criticisms but added he had persuaded Tim Blott, managing director at the Herald group, to chair an industry summit on the future of Scottish newspapers.
Read the debate transcript here.
Read more, here.
Also, here.
