Stress 'timebomb' ticking at Johnston Press

Overworked journalists facing a stress 'timebomb' at work are demanding urgent talks with Johnston Press after the company announced further massive cuts. Journalists' union NUJ is warning that increased workload and stress levels are endangering both staff and the publications they produce. In an interim management statement, for the 18 weeks to 3 November 2012, the company blamed the latest multimillion pound cuts package on a 16 per cent slump in advertising revenue. Barry Fitzpatrick, NUJ deputy general secretary, said: 'The major concerns for us are the levels of workload and stress among the staff during this period of change; it is a ticking timebomb. We urge the company to engage actively with the NUJ to address these problems and to build upon the willingness of our members to make the transition work.' The NUJ wants to discuss the impact on all staff of the planned redundancies, including the implications for workplace stress levels.

• NUJ news release.