Union members across Johnston Press are considering action after the company announced the extension of its pay freeze.
Chapel representatives from the National Union of Journalists held a conference call on Tuesday evening after the publisher announced earlier this month that its pay freeze would continue for another six months.
Representatives from across the UK and Ireland took part in the union discussion, raising concerns about staffing levels and the pay freeze, which will mean salary reviews are on hold until July at the earliest.
The chapels are now considering what steps to take and some members called for industrial action to be held.
Scottish organiser Paul Holleran said the union may conduct a consultative ballot to gauge the strength of feeling among members, the results of which would be taken back to the publisher.
He said: “People are unhappy with the staffing levels more than anything. Staff are leaving and not being replaced and the pay freeze has come on top of that situation.
“People were saying they are aware of the situation that the company is in but they are being asked to do twice as much work and they are not getting a pay rise.”
It comes as chief executive Ashley Highfield sent an email to all staff in Johnston Press, describing the achievements of the company in 2012 and setting down priorities for the coming year.
The email, which has been seen by HTFP, said 370 journalists and more than 900 of the sales team had been given new hardware to help them do their jobs more effectively and more than 500 staff had moved or will be moving to better accommodation.
Ashley said objectives for the year ahead included increasing the company’s profits by growing revenues, not just cutting costs, and keeping circulations steady.
He also said he wanted to see “dramatic” digital growth, including the relaunch of all its websites and the launch of new services like the company’s WOW 247 entertainment website.
Also highlighted was improving staff satisfaction and continuing to pay down the company’s debt.
Ashley added: “2013 is the year we get back to growth. That’s a bold objective. The regional press industry has been in decline for a number of years, but there are many signs that we can, and are, turning things around.”
Johnston Press had not responded to requests for a comment at the time of publication.
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That sound you are hearing is the stable door being closed. The speck in the distance is the horse
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The NUJ are unbelievable! I work for JP and am a member of the union. This article is the first I have heard of this despite contacting the NUJ about precisely this issue!
No wonder journalists are paid peanuts when we have such a weak union who keep their members out of the loop.
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Nothing like striking while the iron’s hot.
And this is nothing like striking while the iron’s hot.
In lieu of ever getting one from JP, I awarded myself a 2% pay rise last year by cancelling my NUJ direct debit.
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I’ve seen an ad for a “promotions supervisor” based in Leeds with a salary of £20k plus bonus. Oh, that a poor trainee hack, who’s had to sit A levels, go to uni and then do post-grad training in journalism, shorthand, law etc, and then be thrust into the great wide world to cover council meetings, rush stories on to the web and do the job of two reporters (minimum) should aspire to such dizzying heights.
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Staff in regional offices could sell their video cameras and edit suite equipment on ebay to raise revenue. I know many organisations (charities, quango’s etc) who will put it to good use. As the old saying goes; if you haven’t used something for a year, you probably never will.
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I gave up on the union chapel at my daily when the members got more animated about the prospect of the dep ed losing his job (himself a union member – but,ssh, don’t tell anyone) then when all the subs, features staff and photographers got turfed out in the preceding years. Good luck with this guys!
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The building’s on fire…. get out now!
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