Management at Archant Norfolk have accused the National Union of Journalists of making “disingenuous” comments after it issued a vote of no confidence in the company.
The NUJ chapel at Archant Norfolk issued the no confidence vote yesterday, declaring Archant’s redundancy procedure as “confused and ill-prepared from the start”.
Journalists are unhappy at Archant’s conduct after 54 redundancies, since reduced to 34, were announced last month.
But Archant Norfolk managing director, Stephan Phillips, said the company’s consultations had involved elected staff representatives, including NUJ members.
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Phillips said: “This process involves listening and responding. When we agree to consider a point raised in the meeting and subsequently modify the plan, we are adhering to the principles of the consultation process. It is not a mistake when we make these changes.
“A number of the elected staff representatives who are consulting with us have described our meetings as constructive and positive. Therefore I find the comments from the NUJ as puzzling, if not disingenuous.”
Previously, Archant have said the recession forced them to make cuts, and that a new £2 million piece of editorial software would enable the newsrooms to operate effectively with fewer staff.
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