On day three of the Yorkshire Post strike the quality of the papers were really starting to suffer.

Joint FoC Pete Lazenby says, in an interview on a video from the picket line, that the chapel had no illusions that management would manage to get the papers out.

But he says when you look through the newspaper it’s a “ragbag of stories, scratched up, scraped up from all over the place. Most of them have no relevance whatsoever to the bulk of the readership.”

Pete notes that management have been filling the papers with copy from PA.

The anti-trade union laws in this country do not allow for lawful solidarity action, but NUJ Left believes PA journalists should not be expected to fill pages while NUJ members are taking such a principled stand against cutbacks.

Despite this, Pete says morale on the picket line hasn’t been affected and strikers have been “laughing their socks off” at the poor standard of the papers going out.

On the video it also revealed that a local printing firm, Blackburns, which has been around for 150 years, laid off about 200 staff earlier this week at just an hour’s notice.

Pete points out: “It’s the same for them as it is for us, these are problems not of our making. And in our case, as we’ve said before, we blame utter mismanagement of this company, Johnston Press, for the mess that they’re in financially.”

Pete points out: “It’s the same for them as it is for us, these are problems not of our making. And in our case, as we’ve said before, we blame utter mismanagement of this company, Johnston Press, for the mess that they’re in financially.”

The strike is also scheduled to run this week from Thursday 26 February to Sunday 1 March.

NUJ members will be picketing the Yorkshire Post building in Leeds from 7am to 6pm next Thursday and Friday. Friends and supporters are asked to join them at picket line rallies from 4pm to 5.30 pm on Thursday and Friday.

This is a fight for jobs, for justice, and for the maintenance of quality journalism in the regional press. Please give whatever support you can by sending messages, visiting picket lines and donating money.

- Cheques should be made payable to: ‘EP/YP joint chapel branch’ and sent to PO Box HP346, Leeds LS6 1UL

- Donations online to: Unity Trust Bank account 35017589 sort code 08-60-01

- Messages of support to: nujleedsstrikers@googlemail.com and 07549 170401

- Join the Save Leeds’ Local Newspapers facebook group

- Keep up to date with strike news on the NUJ website

- And follow updates on the dispute blog

Send letters of protest over job losses and their effect on newspapers to:

- Chris Green, managing director, Yorkshire Post Newspapers, Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 1RF

- John Fry, chief executive, Johnston Press, 53, Manor Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7EG

Posted by NUJ Left