INDUSTRIAL action by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers has been called off.
The decision – long anticipated these last few weeks, the longer negotiations continued between the union and management – followed a series of walkouts sparked by the announcement of compulsory redundancies.
The titles have been merging content and production and had been unable to find enough applicants for voluntary redundancy.
The dispute was also fuelled by concerns about longer working hours.
Announcing the ending of the action, NUJ Scottish Organiser, Paul Holleran, said: “This has been a hard-fought battle against potentially 40 compulsory redundancies as well as unacceptable changes to members’ contracts.
“Through a mixture of industrial action, political pressure and legal threat we have made progress on the issues and moved to a negotiated position which the chapel are prepared to accept, although it has to be said, are far from happy at what has happened in recent months.
“However, we are now looking to engage in discussions on how to move forward. We want management to help restore some goodwill and take a partnership approach to the introduction of the new editorial system and new ways of working to our mutual benefit and for the future of two of Scotland’s important national titles.”
It is understood there is now only one outstanding compulsory redundancy case and that news sub-editors will work a four-day week averaging 35 hours instead of five days at 38 hours.
A number of people initially facing compulsory redundancy have since been re-instated.
