Journalists condemn sweeping job cuts at MEN
11 March 2009
Following the announcement by the Guardian Media Group that it is to make 78 journalists redundant, including 39 at the Manchester Evening News, the MEN NUJ Chapel held a lengthy and well-attended meeting, which unanimously passed the following motion:
"The Chapel utterly condemns this week's announcements of sweeping job cuts at the MEN, our Greater Manchester weekly newspapers and the group's publications in Surrey and Berkshire and believes they will have a devastating effect on local democracy and regional journalism.
We also condemn the redundancies inflicted on other sectors of our business.
The Chapel rejects absolutely any compulsory journalistic redundancies, which are especially unpalatable at a time when the organisation is still making a profit. The total number of proposed redundancies is unjustifiable and unsustainable. We demand an early explanation of how you envisage a future MEN/weeklies newsroom will work.
Management should be under no illusion that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our colleagues. We will be meeting again shortly to discuss our next steps.
However, since it is clear that these executive decisions have been demanded by the GMG board and sanctioned by the Scott Trust, we request that Dame Liz Forgan and her fellow trustees come to Manchester as soon as possible to speak to us."
FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE www.nuj.org.uk