Journalists on the Daily Post in North Wales have voted to take strike action over changes to job roles that have left positions unfilled and raised fears of understaffing, the NUJ has said.
The daily has seen six positions lost with six new ones created under owners Trinity Mirror, but union members say key posts, such as that of executive editor, have been left empty.
The Trinity Mirror North Wales chapel has claimed “already under-pressure” editorial staff would face “unreasonable workloads” as a result, with fears they could be asked to work twice as many weekends as they do currently.
A digital reporter role has also been lost at the publication, which was revealed as the fastest growing website in the UK earlier this year, having grown unique browsers by 82.4 per cent year on year to more than 77,000.
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Trinity Mirror has said it is “disappointed” at the outcome of the union members’ ballot.
A chapel spokesperson said: “The result clearly reflects members’ feelings that enough is enough and that further pressure on staff is unsustainable. The chapel feels strongly that an already-stretched workforce will be pushed to breaking point by Trinity Mirror’s proposals.”
Jane Kennedy, NUJ assistant organiser for the Northern and Midlands region, said: “In the latest rounds of cuts in Wales, Merseyside and across the country, Trinity Mirror is choosing to let go people with years of awarding-wining skills and experience, leaving the highly-talented journalists that are left behind under so much pressure that it is impossible to produce their best.
“We ask management to stop and reconsider this strategy and enter into talks with us to ensure we all can work positively together to create and maintain high quality journalism that truly serves the communities it represents.”
A Trinity Mirror spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring the media in Wales thrives and serves the Welsh people by covering the news and content that matters to them, and putting the right structures in place to be able to facilitate this.
“As we have stated before, we will continue to cover politics in Wales with a reporter based in our North Wales office.”
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