Almost all of the daily editorial staff 20 minutes went on strike Thursday, April 29, in particular to protest against job cuts recently decided by the management of the free newspaper. “More than 90% of the editorial staff”, or 71 of the 77 journalists present on Thursday, voted “A day of strike action to protest against the deletions and non-replacements of positions opportunistically and erratically decided by management in recent months”, explain the strikers in a press release. The digital edition of the newspaper will therefore not appear on Friday, the day when the striking employees will continue their movement, they voted Thursday evening in a general meeting.
A collective redundancy plan provides for “Six layoffs including two in the editorial staff” out of a total of 207 employees, said Hakima Bounemoura, CFDT union delegate, whose union supports the movement, with elected members of the CSE. Contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the management of the free newspaper did not comment.
?After a motion of no confidence voted by more than 80% at the beginning of March and remained unanswered, more than 90% of journalists … https://t.co/2HM5aesGVK
Some 80% of the editorial staff of the free daily voted, on March 12, a motion of no confidence against the management, after the announcement of job cuts and an extended recourse to partial unemployment. According to Hakima Bounemoura, the newspaper’s management thinks only of “Save money, cut headcount and fixed costs without trying to find new solutions to try to bounce back”.
The newspaper, a subsidiary of the regional daily West France and the Belgian press publisher Rossel, was severely weakened by the health crisis, due in particular to the fall in the advertising market. Latest decision to date which crystallized tensions: “A move of the head office to smaller premises which can only accommodate 60% of Parisian employees. Even though no teleworking agreement has yet been negotiated ”, explains the striking editorial staff. ” The prospect of a “flex-office” deployment is of great concern ” and “Contributes to the deterioration of working conditions”, add the journalists. “Social dialogue within the company has become completely deleterious”, they say, calling on the CEO of the daily to “Open a dialogue with elected officials” based on their claims.
Created in 2002, 20 minutes has developed strongly in digital and claims a total of 23 million readers per month, including 15 million on mobile, and nearly 3 million readers per day for its print editions. The free media targets urban workers aged 15 to 49, particularly in public transport and mobility. Its distribution suffered from travel restrictions linked to the health crisis.