The NUJ has brokered a deal which means it now has collective bargaining rights throughout Trinity Mirror‘s portfolio of regional newspapers in England.
The union said the ‘landmark recognition deal’was made at Trinity Mirror Cheshire, which was the only Trinity subsidiary without NUJ bargaining rights.
Around 15 new members from the Chester HQ and a district office in Crewe are said to have joined the union following jobs cuts on titles including the Cheshire Chronicle.
According to a report in The Journalist, the union’s official magazine, Trinity management agreed to voluntary recognition as long as conciliation service ACAS confirmed more than half of the staff were members of the union.
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‘In the end 25 out of 34 had signed up, giving a proportion of nearly 74 per cent across the two offices,’the report said.
Joint Cheshire FoC David Triggs said: ‘It always proved difficult to sign up the required numbers, but jobs have been lost over the last couple of years and this led to a collective feeling among journalists that something needed to be done.
‘In the space of just a few weeks earlier this year, we went from having a handful of NUJ members to having a significant majority.
‘Talks with the company went smoothly and a house agreement is now in place.”
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