An early day motion criticising the New Statesman for not recognising the National Union of Journalists has been signed by 27 MPs.
The motion, sponsored by John Cummings, Labour MP for Easington, states: ‘This House is dismayed by the announcement of the management of the New Statesman not to recognise the National Union of Journalists (NUJ);
‘Notes that 15 out of 16 members of staff at the magazine are members of the NUJ and that the magazine shares a common history with the labour and trades union movements and should act as a model of employer-staff relations;
‘Remarks that instead the announcement coincides with the news that the new editor, Jason Cowley, is embarking on a series of redundancies of senior staff…
‘And calls on the owners of the New Statesman to recognise the NUJ, to suspend the redundancies and to begin negotiations with the union over the future of the magazine.”
Earlier this month, New Statesman publisher Spencer Neal told Press Gazette more talks on recognition are planned next month.
‘The New Statesman has had a long and warm relationship with trade unions of all descriptions, including the NUJ,’he said.
‘We look forward to the meeting and continuing our dialogue.”
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