National Union of Journalists members at Herts and Essex Newspapers were today due to begin a second ballot on industrial action.

Earlier this month chapel members voted in favour of strike action or industrial action short of a strike, but HEN management questioned the legality of the ballot and the NUJ decided to vote again.

Staff are unhappy with a proposed reorganisation of editorial departments, which could see jobs cut.

The group's titles include the Hertfordshire Mercury, Royston and Buntingford Mercury, Hoddesdon and Broxbourne Mercury, Cheshunt and Waltham Mercury, Herts and Essex Observer series and the Harlow Star series.

Management called the first ballot into question after it was not given details of the office locations of those involved.

This information has now been supplied and ballot papers are due to go out to union members today.

The union says that manangement has put forward a list of concessions which would see regular consultation with the chapel once the restructure was in place and a temporary freelance part-time sub-editor brought in for the Star series, but members feel this would not go far enough.

A chapel spokesman told HoldtheFrontPage: "People are really hacked off with the way the company is going about things. They are not listening to us.

"They tell us that the decision has been made, that there is no going back and that it is for the good of the company.

"They don't appreciate that we are taking a stand for the good of the company."

The proposed 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 would have one editor instead of two.

Herts and Essex Newspapers managing director Paul Thompson and editor-in-chief Colin Grant were unavailable for comment.