NUJ callls off action at Trinity Mirror in Brum

NUJ members at Trinity Mirror’s BPM Media, publisher of the Birmingham Post and Birmingham Mail, have called off plans for industrial action over compulsory redundancies.
They had told management at the Birmingham centre that they intended to go on strike unless the company changed its position on plans to make editorial staff compulsorily redundant.
A statement from the NUJ chapel said: “The chapel has withdrawn the planned industrial action over compulsory redundancies. We recognise and welcome the efforts made by the company to avoid compulsory redundancy, particularly in photography, in recent weeks.
“We look forward to continued constructive efforts to resolve the outstanding issue of the [multi media production journalists] facing compulsory redundancy in January.”

NUJ blasts Trinity Mirror bosses over plans to cut up to 85 jobs in Midlands shake-up

The NUJ has condemned Trinity Mirror for proposing more job cuts in the Midlands after the company confirmed today that it was considering taking the Birmingham Post weekly and producing the Birmingham Mail overnight - moves the NUJ predicted would happen last June.
Today, the NUJ says Trinity Mirror staff in Birmingham and Coventry were told that a consultation period had begun and up to 85 jobs could be lost across the company.
Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary, said: “Trinity Mirror Midlands managers refused to confirm these proposals even when we put them in the public domain. In the last month they have closed down weekly papers – which we also predicted – even though there was at least one potential buyer for the titles. And they have launched scurrilous attacks on NUJ members trying to defend jobs and newspapers – calling them ‘highly irresponsible’.
“Trinity Mirror managers have been shown to be irresponsible with regard to the truth and their attitude to their newspapers and the communities they serve. The union will fight to defend the jobs of journalists and the future of the Post. If there are other publishers interested in the title Trinity Mirror should be prepared to sell.”
Dear also condemned the plan to turn the Mail into a morning paper. He said: “This is all about saving money by sacking van drivers and distribution staff without any thought for the good of the newspaper. Without the ability to cover breaking news the Mail will lose a key selling point.
“When Michael Jackson died overnight the paper sold thousands of extra copies thanks to locally produced content. That sort of reaction to a breaking story is under threat from these proposals.
“If carried through today’s proposals constitute a major attack on journalists and journalism in the UK’s second biggest city. The NUJ will support our members in Birmingham in whatever action they decide to take to stand up for journalism.”