Guardian and Observer NUJ chapels 'deplore' Guardian Media regional job cuts

Journalists on the Guardian and Observer in London have shown solidarity with regional journalists in their group who are facing widescale job cuts and editorial office closures.
A joint meeting of NUJ members from the two national titles unanimously agreed a resolution that said: “When the chapels in greater Manchester, Surrey and Berkshire decide on a course of action, we will support them.”
The motion also deplored the lack of consultation by Guardian Media regional management and called for redundancy payments to be equal to those offered on the national papers.
Guardian Media has announced plans to cut 39 out of 90 jobs on the Manchester Evening News and close all their weekly paper offices in the north west of England.
In the south east two paid-for weekly papers are to close and the Reading Evening Post is to reduce from five days a week to two.
The full motion passed by the joint meeting of the Guardian and Observer chapels read: “The redundancies proposed at the Manchester Evening News and the weeklies in greater Manchester amount to a collective redundancy of more than 100 (150 in fact), and together with the mooted redundancies at the Surrey and Berkshire newspapers, the total of proposed GMG redundancies is 245.
"The Guardian and Observer chapels deplore the management’s attempt to avoid its legal responsibilities. There must be 90 days’ consultation. This time could be used to considers ways of ameliorating the situation and trying to ensure the survival of the papers and preserving quality. We would support the MEN and other regional chapels if it became necessary to take the company to an employment tribunal because of the lack of proper consultation.
“We call on management to offer the journalists in Greater Manchester and on the Surrey and Berkshire newspapers the same enhanced redundancy terms as are available to Guardian and Observer journalists until June 30, namely four weeks’ pay for every year’s service up to £95,000, plus three months’ pay in lieu of notice. This might well attract more volunteers for redundancy.
“The Guardian and Observer chapels oppose compulsory redundancies. When the chapels in Greater Manchester, Surrey and Berkshire decide on a course of action, we will support them.”
On Wednesday 25 March the NUJ is organising a lobby of Parliament as part of a union-wide campaign against media cuts.