The Manchester Evening News National Union of Journalists Chapel has passed the following motions at a mandatory meeting held today, and sent this email to GMG Regional chief executive, Mark Dodson.

To: Mark Dodson
Cc: Paul Horrocks; Jim Banham; Carolyn McCall; Liz Forgan
Subject: MEN NUJ chapel resolutions

Dear Mark,

At a very well attended, mandatory meeting earlier today, the MEN NUJ chapel unanimously passed the following resolutions:

• This chapel extends its thanks to the Guardian/Observer chapels for their declared support;

• This chapel deplores the company’s refusal to invoke a 90-day consultation period which could have been used usefully to explore other options and urges it to think again;

• This chapel declares it has no confidence in the Scott Trust or the GMG board;

• This chapel believes that Dame Liz Forgan, in her role as chair of the Scott Trust, has a moral duty and responsibility to speak to journalists at the MEN and its weekly newspapers and those at Surrey and Berkshire about how these devastating jobs cuts chime with Trust values BEFORE they are implemented;

• This chapel supports the weekly newspaper chapels in their decisions and pledges to support them;

• This chapel agrees to ballot for industrial action, up to and including strike action;

• This chapel reiterates its willingness to meet management at any time to talk with a view to resolving the current problems.