Journalists at STV have voted to strike in a dispute over controversial plans to axe a dedicated news service in the north east.
The company intends to close it STV North operation with the loss of up to 30 jobs and replace it with opt-outs from the Glasgow headquarters.
A ballot among members of the National Union of Journalists resulted in 94% in favour of striking on a turnout of 82%. No dates for walk-outs have been announced.
Management said the vote was “disappointing” and drew attention to its proposals which were designed to ensure the news operation was “viable”.
Nick McGowan-Lowe, the NUJ’s national organiser for Scotland, said: “Voting for industrial action is a step that no worker takes lightly.
“This result shows the strength of feeling within our members at STV, both around the cuts, and the way in which management has handled them.
“While we acknowledge the progress that STV management have already made in attempting to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies, the plan they are proposing for axing the STV North edition of the News at 6 is bad for viewers, bad for journalism, and bad for the north of Scotland.”
He added: “This is a dispute about quality journalism, and making sure the north of Scotland can continue to have access to reliable, trusted, quality news coverage that is routed in their communities.
“We will continue to fight for every single job in the newsroom.”
STV’s chief executive Rufus Radcliffe said: “Today’s ballot result is disappointing, especially when the consultation process has not yet concluded and we are making significant progress through voluntary redundancy and redeployment.
“As a result, we expect the number of those impacted on a compulsory basis to be very small. Our proposals will protect local journalism and ensure STV News is financially sustainable.
“This kind of change is never easy, and our focus continues to be on supporting our colleagues through a period of essential change.”
The proposal for a single news programme for both central and northern Scotland will require the approval of the TV regulator Ofcom which is expected to begin a consultation before Christmas.
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