STV journalists to strike in January in row over changes to news programmes

Journalists at STV have announced plans to strike next month as part of a row over changes to news programmes in the north of Scotland.

The walkout is planned for January 7 next year – the day the broadcaster had planned to launch its new radio station.

However STV confirmed on Monday the new station will go on air for the first time 24 hours earlier, on Tuesday January 6.

The strike comes after STV announced changes to its service that the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has said will be both “bad for viewers” and “bad for journalism” in the north of Scotland.

While the company previously announced plans to replace its central belt and north of Scotland news programmes with a single show from Glasgow, these were “watered down” by STV bosses.

This will see the STV News At 6 programme produced and presented from Glasgow – with about 30% of the programme being specific to the north of Scotland area.

The planned strike comes after 94% of NUJ members in a ballot backed industrial action.

Nick McGowan-Lowe, NUJ national organiser for Scotland, said: “Our members are angry at the lack of leadership from the top of the company, angry at management’s handling of the proposed changes, and angry that their colleagues are facing compulsory redundancies because of the company’s financial mismanagement.

“It is not too late for management to rethink their plans and avoid damaging strikes.”

An STV spokesperson said: “The NUJ has notified us of their decision to take action on January 7. This won’t impact the launch of STV Radio, an exciting new growth venture for the business.

“Our investment in radio will drive profitable revenue for the company, helping to support our multimillion-pound news operation which is not financially sustainable in its current form and for which we receive no public funding.

“Our request to Ofcom for changes to the news commitments in our licences, which they propose to accept, ensures the delivery of newsgathering and coverage right across Scotland on a sustainable basis for the company, and sees the expansion of our digital news service in response to changing news consumption.

“As a result of our cost savings plan 28 roles are impacted across our newsrooms, the majority of which have been achieved through voluntary redundancy or redeployment.”