UK: Telegraph calls impending strike “regrettable”

Posted by Rory Satran on October 27, 2006 at 10:38 AM

The Telegraph called the impending National Union of Journalists strike “regrettable” in a recent statement. A spokeswoman for the company stressed that the strike was unfortunate "given the massive amount of investment that is taking place at Victoria in the future of the Telegraph.” The spokeswoman also made clear that the 54 editorial redundancies protested were effectuated on “generous terms.”

"There were 54 job losses in this area as a result of the integration of our business. However, those affected left on generous terms - and there was only one appeal against a decision,” said the Telegraph spokeswoman.

The National Union of Journalists maintain that the company’s refusal to meet with the union resulted in an “ignored and alienated” staff.

In his excellent state-of-affairs article in Slate, Bryan Curtis reports that as a result of the reckless job slashing, the Telegraph's new headquarters in Victoria has come to be known as "Jonestown.”

Sources: Guardian, Slate