Unite confirmed this week that it was organising a ballot over redundancy pay, as a result of changes proposed by former Southernprint owner Newsquest, prior to its sale of the Poole-based magazine printer.

Unite national officer Steve Sibbald said: "Redundancy pay at Newsquest was always two weeks of pay per year of service. Prior to the sale of the business to [Wyndeham Press Group owner] Walstead Investments, Newsquest issued a note changing these terms, which we did not accept. When the acquisition was made, the issue was unresolved and Walstead has said it will only offer statutory redundancy."

Southernprint entered into consultation with 26 staff at its Upton and Ferndown sites last month as a result of plans to decommission two presses at Upton in order to install a new binding line.

However, with redundancies certain to take place, the disputed redundancy pay package has led the union to ballot its members over possible industrial action.

Wyndeham Press Group declined to comment on the possible strike. However, in an email to Southernprint customers, seen by PrintWeek, group sales director Lee Godwin played down the threat.

In the email Godwin asserted that the ballot was a normal negotiating tactic,. However, Sibbald said: "This is categorically not a bargaining tool, we could have used it as such months ago."