Journalists have entered their second month of industrial action at South Yorkshire Newspapers.
Despite reaching their 36th day of indefinite strike action against proposed job cuts by Johnston Press, the chapel members say they are stronger than ever.
Darren Burke, a journalist at the Doncaster Free Press, said: “People are resolute, angry and upset. They are also wondering how it will work when things do settle down.”
The union said that a number of chapel meetings had taken place over the last week and they had corresponded with the company to discuss how the situation would be moved along.
The union members began strike action on 15 July after Johnston Press announced proposals to restructure staff at five newspapers, resulting in job losses.
Titles affected by the cuts include the South Yorkshire Times, Selby Times, Doncaster Free Press, Epworth Bells and Goole Courier.
The proposals by the company, who have so far refused to comment, will see a total of 18 jobs lost within the group and would see the South Yorkshire Times, Goole Courier and Selby Times run under a single editor.
Former editor of the South Yorkshire Times, Jim Oldfield, received his notice of redundancy last month, along with sports editor of the Doncaster Free Press, Peter Catt.
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Are these papers still being published, and if so, then by whom? Or has publication been halted completely by the strike?
Doesn’t HTFP think that is relevant information for a story about strikes at newspapers?
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They are being produced by a skeleton staff of the editor and deputy editor and then teams of strike breakers (mostly untrained journalists, PR types and students) brought in by the company.
Publication of the titles has continued but they are of distinctly inferior quality, packed with space filling photo spreads, typos, errors and poor quality journalism.
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Obsserver
The papers are still being published by JP.
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Just goes to show how they aren’t needed eh!
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Mark, you wouldn’t be saying that if you saw the differences between the papers produced by the REAL staff and those put together by the gang of untrained journalists, work experience students, PR types and other odds and sods brought in to strike break.
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Can see the point Mark is making.
Are actual sales down since the strike began or are the public buying the papers regardless?
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