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LONDON (AFX) - Editorial staff at Britain's Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers are to go on strike in protest at job cuts and a move to a new office, the National Union of Journalists said today.
An NUJ ballot for strike action saw 76 pct of its members at the Telegraph Group Ltd voted in favour of a walk-out, the date for which has yet to be fixed.
The dispute centres around plans to make more than 130 staff, including many journalists, redundant amid moves from their current east London base to a new publishing centre and redesigned newsroom in central London.
Staff at the right-of-centre titles are angry at the changes, including shift alterations and extra duties, which they feel have been taken without proper consultation.
NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: "Our members at The Telegraph have had no choice but to take the ultimate step and vote to strike. Management have only themselves to blame.
"They should have seen this coming months ago and done something to reassure staff rather than high-handedly pushing on with painful and unpopular changes.
"Members of the NUJ chapel repeatedly asked to be properly consulted and repeatedly managers ignored them and went over their heads."
Responding to the announcement, the Telegraph Group said: "We are unable to comment until we have official notification of the ballot."
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Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
