Union members at Herts and Essex Newspapers have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action.

The ballot result showed that out of 31 eligible members in the chapel 29 papers were returned, with 24 voting for strike action and five against. For industrial action short of a strike, 27 voted yes (93.1 per cent) and two voted no (6.9 per cent).

The vote took place after the company proposed a reorganisation of editorial departments, which could see jobs cut and the closure of the Hoddesdon Mercury office.

The results of the ballot have been formally passed on to management and the National Union of Journalists members are currently awaiting a response.

A statement from the union chapel said: "Ours is not a militant chapel – it last took industrial action in the 1970s as part of a national strike – and this ballot result is a clear indication of the depth and strength of members’ feelings.

"The chapel is gravely concerned about the competence of the proposals and believe they will serve only to seriously and perhaps irreversibly damage the working environment, staff/management relations and the quality of the newspapers we produce for our readers.

"We stress that we are in no way opposed in principle to restructuring, just to this specific set of proposals which amount to little more than a deeply flawed, ill-judged and empirically unsupportable wrecking ball.

"If management will set aside these proposals the chapel is fully prepared to set aside its industrial action. We would then be pleased to discuss those goals the company wishes to achieve and any restructuring issues arising from them."

The changes include scrapping the existing posts of editor and news editor at both the Hoddesdon and Cheshunt Mercury series and its sister title the Hertfordshire Mercury, replacing them with one overall editor and one overall news editor.

The plan also proposes that the role of editor of the sister Herts and Essex Observer be merged with that of the group’s editor-in-chief, Colin Grant, who would take on the job. The company’s two Star Series newspapers are set to have one instead of two editors.

Under the proposals, the Hoddesden Mercury editorial team would relocate to the Herts and Essex News group’s Media Centre at Hertford.

Last month, the chapel passed a resolution stating its opposition to the proposed restructuring, expressed its wish to be directly involved with management in consultations and further passed a vote of no-confidence in Colin Grant.