Second strike begins at Newsquest North West

Newsquest journalists threatened with compulsory redundancy today began their second strike in the space of a month.

NUJ members at Newsquest Cheshire and Merseyside are on strike today and tomorrow, in an action which will affect the Warrington Guardian, Northwich Guardian, Sale and Altrincham Messenger, St Helens Star and The Wirral Globe.

The NUJ said Newsquest had already cut the seven jobs previously announced but that there were a number of appeals waiting to be heard later this week.

In a release the NUJ said: ‘The union wants to stop the redundancies. If the cuts go ahead it will be impossible to produce quality papers and compete with company rivals such as Trinity Mirror.”

The local NUJ chapel is now calling on Newsquest to negotiate with it union on ‘how to deal with the new workloads if the redundancies are carried through in full”.

The union said it wanted to ‘prevent breaches in the Working Time Directive and reduce health and safety risks”.

NUJ northern and Midlands organiser Chris Morley said: “Chapel negotiators held last gasp talks with management yesterday to try to prevent this action but it was clear the company had no real intention of trying to understand, never mind meet, the chapel’s desperate concerns.

“Our members have been resolute in not only seeking to defend colleagues but also the quality newspapers and websites they produce and they are prepared to make this sacrifice to underline to the company that its ruinous cost-cutting cannot continue. The strike is absolutely solid.

“A halt must be called now to the never-ending flow of cuts that is driving morale in the company into the ground and undermining the future for all who remain.”

Newsquest chief executive Paul Davidson was unavailable for comment.