‘Irish Times’ unions accept company survival plan

Irish Times workers have voted decisively in favour of a survival plan for the company negotiated with management.

Irish Timesworkers have voted decisively in favour of a survival plan for the company negotiated with management.

The company announced last November that it was seeking to reduce operating costs by €22.25 million a year, resulting in the loss of 250 jobs from the 710-strong workforce.

Voting on agreed severance and early retirement packages, proposals on corporate governance in The Irish Times, and reorganisation of the editorial division of the newspaper concluded this morning.

In an aggregate ballot the Dublin Printing Group of Unions voted in favour of the severance and early retirement packages by 528 to 19. Corporate governance proposals were accepted by 491 to 47 votes.

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Irish Organiser of the National Union of Journalists Mr Seamus Dooley said this afternoon: "This is a tough time for Irish Timesworkers. This ballot shows that we are prepared to face the challenge head on and we will expect management to do the same."

"It is regrettable that jobs will go but we are confident that we can achieve voluntary redundancies and we can ensure that the editorial integrity of the newspaper is preserved," he said.