A regional publisher has agreed to work with the National Union of Journalists to combat a stress “crisis” among its staff, the union has claimed.
The NUJ has issued a press releases claiming the Johnston Press board has given a commitment to work on the issue following the company’s Annual General Meeting yesterday.
NUJ representatives at the event proposed working collaboratively to alleviate stress levels among JP journalists during a question and answer session at the meeting.
According to the union, less than 1,000 editorial staff currently produce more than 450 publications and websites across JP.
The NUJ says a commitment was given by the JP board that the matter would be an item on the agenda at its next meeting in the next few days and they emphasised they take the union’s proposal seriously and will discuss it.
Board members also said that the company take the welfare of staff very seriously.
Laura Davison, NUJ national organiser, said: “We welcome the board’s commitment and look forward to hearing the outcome of their discussions.
“Workplaces stress and staffing levels is the number one issue for our members in Johnston Press.”
HTFP has asked JP for a comment.
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“Workplaces stress and staffing levels is the number one issue for our members in Johnston Press.”
Good to hear that pay levels are fine then.
Is this the same full time official who referred to JP managers as bean counters ?
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Does this mean the JP will – move back into offices in town centres: employ journalists and photographers: abandon its silly templates: re-instate editors (instead of content managers) for every production: reduce the exorbitant cover prices: produce adequate pages: give pay rises: MAKE ASHLEY REDUNDANT!? These measures would reduce stress!!
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Any response from JP yet? Think you’ll be waiting a long time.
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I thought I was pretty well paid as weekly journos go on my old JP rag.
But the stress of working up to 60 hours a week ( a lot of it unpaid) to put out a rapidly deteriorating paper constantly derided by readers made me quit. I never regretted it.
Someone else can take the handcart to hell.
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We have had three of 10 staff suffer a stress related condition that is supposed to affect one in 500,000 people, so it’s probably about time JP looked at this. It would help if we had enough people to actually do the job required of us We have a news team of two today for two newspapers and their websites.
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Careful now! You’ll be putting Ash under pressure that JP may have to GIVE a little, rather than TAKING so much from their over-stressed and impoverished staff.
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HTFP going the way of ink.
less than 1,000 editorial staff
should be
fewer than 1,000 editorial staff
Forgive me but I’m a redundant sub
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Just do the hours you’re paid for and the work of one person – then go home. They won’t be able to get a single production published.
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it’s The Impossible Dream. JP wold need to call in an army of eminent psychiatrists to undo the deep stress they have caused within the ramshackle company they have created. That would cost a fortune. They won’t even pay to have the phones repaired in our remote rural (and scenic) office which accommodates six newspapers within a radius of 20 miles – two editors, sorry contents managers – no photographers and about 30% of the staff that’s needed. Circulation halved within about four years. I rest my case.
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Never once during the ruthless, futile cuts by the suits who mismanage JP did they explain the true situation of the company. Never once did they confide in the hundreds dumped out in the street. All they did was instruct middle managers to save X number of pounds,without thought of the consequences to people or product. Cover prices soared while quality noise dived. The website nonsense has failed and the papers have been so mutilated (along with circulations) that there seems no way back. Stupid and horrible. The truth is in the fall of the share price.
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