JOURNALISTS on Trinity Mirror’s three national newspapers are to ballot on strike action following the announcement last week that around 200 posts are at risk of redundancy.
Following the announcement, which includes an end to Scottish editionising of the Mirror titles, is expected to see 25 per cent of editorial staff lost as the publisher moves toward “new, multimedia newsrooms” at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People.
And, argues Shaun Milne – a former assistant editor of the Scottish Daily Mirror – in his latest media blog entry, the spectre of further redundancies still looms large.
Writes Milne: “With the Scottish editions of the Mirror now out of the way, copy-sharing already going between the papers, and now a one-size-fits-all editorial platform being put in place, who would really bet against more cuts to come in the Autumn, or certainly early in the New Year.
“That’s not scaremongering for the sake of it, but based on what’s happening at Canary Wharf and previously in Glasgow too.”
Yet, the nature of the decision to ballot for industrial action – expected to take place this week – poses serious questions, adds the blogger.
“Tellingly, though, the strike is geared towards arguing for better redundancy terms for those losing their jobs, rather than staving off the losses themselves,” says Milne.
“Such an apparent acceptance by the union that a fully integrated multi-media business and associated job cuts are now inevitable should raise a number of red flags elsewhere.”
