Mirror Group Newspapers is understood to be proposing to drop its use of casual sub-editors and, in part, replace them with part-time staff working from home.
Press Gazette understands the Daily Mirror’s15 full-time sports subs could be reduced to ten with a further ten part-time posts replacing the numerous casual staff.
Creating a team of part-time sports subs who work from home would end the Mirror’s reliance on regular casual sports subs to cover busy periods.
It is also understood that proposals to outsource much of the Daily Mirror’s news production would see all but seven of the 26 full-time news and features subs cut.
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Press Gazette reported last week that MGN managers were in discussion with the Press Association over proposals to outsource much of the news and features subbing of the Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People.
A memo on the outsourcing proposal, sent by the British Association of Journalists to its members, claimed a proposal existed for PA to supply a dedicated team to work on MGN’s titles to handle “on-the-edition” copy and “overnight material”.
Officials from the BAJ are understood to have had their calls to retain a greater number of news and features subs, thus avoiding the need of outsourcing, rejected.
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A request to retain a number of part-time news and features subs to work from home is also understood to have been rejected.
In future, casuals are only expected to be used on an irregular basis to cover holiday and sickness across the three titles.
A Trinity Mirror spokesman told Press Gazette: “We are currently in consultation with our staff and when we are in a position to make any announcement on proposals we put forward our staff will be the first to know.”
It emerged yesterday that journalists working at Mirror Group Newspapers had voted in favour of strike action.
The strike ballot was set in motion last month by an announcement from Trinity Mirror, parent company of MGN, of plans to cut around 200 editorial jobs across the Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People.
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