The NUJ has reacted angrily to the decision of Examiner Publications to issue protective notice to members of staff at the Irish Examiner and Evening Echo.
The journalists were due to begin limited industrial action on Monday, as a result of a dispute over their pay claim.
The NUJ's Irish Organiser, Des Fagan, has said the company is acting in a Scrooge-like way, and he called the protective notice 'an attempt to intimidate staff and their families in the run-up to Christmas.'
