The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has strongly criticised the refusal of Alpha Newspapers Group to meet union officials over the decision to close three midlands publications with the loss of 25 jobs.
The Alpha groups, owned by former Ulster Unionist MP John Taylor now Lord Kilclooney, announced the decision to close the Roscommon Champion, the Longford News and the Athlone Voice yesterday.
The company has arranged to hold meetings with staff on an individual basis tomorrow to discuss terms but the union wants to negotiate alternatives to closure if possible or redundancy terms collectively if possible.
Speaking to RTÉ radio this morning, Lord Kilclooney said the company would meet each member of staff individually “to try and help them”.
He denied the company had refused to meet the union formally and said NUJ Irish secretary Séamus Dooley knows this.
“The facts are and he [Mr Dooley] has confirmed that he knows we are meeting each member of staff individually and we have told him that he is particularly welcome or any representative from the NUJ at any of these meetings tomorrow if the individual wants them there.”
“This is a matter for each individual member of staff, it’s not a matter for Alpha, it’s not a matter for the NUJ.
“We’re not going to discuss our finances with the NUJ. What we are concerned about is the welfare of our individual members of staff.”
However, speaking to The Irish Times today Mr Dooley, a former editor of the Roscommon Champion, accused the company of taking a "very selective approach" to industrial relations.
“The company was perfectly willing to discuss the financial position of the papers with the NUJ when negotiating pay decreases within the last 12 months," he said.
“Our concern is we believe that there should be collective negotiations on the possibility of alternatives to closure and if closure then does take place then we should be looking at discussing meaningful redundancy terms.
“We asked the managing director [of Alpha Newspapers Group] Jonathan Taylor to meet us and he has so far refused.”
Mr Dooley said it is “not acceptable” for the company to only talk to people on an individual basis as it does not show respect to staff.
He also felt by holding tomorrow’s meetings at the three newspapers concurrently Alpha management is deliberately trying to prevent a coordinated union response.
Mr Dooley also criticised Lord Kilclooney's "bizarre interview" on Morning Ireland in which he claimed he had received messages of support and understanding from senior members of the newspapers.
“They recognise the situation is difficult for papers and I’m very impressed with the way they have reacted with it,” Lord Kilclooney said in the interview.
However, Mr Dooley said the editor and staff of the Roscommon Champion had issued a public statement criticising management, including Lord Kilclooney, for their running of the paper.
“They made it clear their dissatisfaction for the manner in which the paper had been run because they hadn’t been given adequate editorial resources and it flies in the face of his claim,” he added.
NUJ Irish rganiser Nicola Coleman is meeting staff in Longford today to discuss their options ahead of tomorrow’s meetings.
Labour's employment spokesman Willie Penrose said the closure of the newspapers was a double blow for the communities and every effort must be made to keep them open.
"Apart from the loss of jobs at the Roscommon Champion, Longford News and Athlone Voice the closure of these papers would represent the loss of valuable sources of information for the areas in which they circulated," he said.
