A strange development: Le Journal de Quebec, a paper that's reportedly known labour peace since 1967, finds 140 unionized staff locked out by Sun Media. And why? Apparently to force adaptation to the changing multimedia world.

An excerpt from the CP story on CTV.ca:

Quebecor spokesman Luc Lavoie said the paper will continue publishing during the lockout.

Lavoie said the company is asking journalists to adapt to the changing multimedia world by providing content for the Internet in different formats.

"The industry is in complete mutation right now,'' Lavoie said in an interview.

"Circulation is down everywhere in North America. The industry is undergoing profound change, so we must adjust working conditions so we can be confident newspapers, businesses like ours will be sustainable into the future.''

The company wants to shift to a five-day workweek from the current four days and to reduce the newspaper's workforce by centralizing some functions like classified ads.

Denis Bolduc, president of the editorial employees union and a spokesman for the other locked out bargaining units, said the labour dispute is "a completely manufactured conflict.''

He said employees are ready to make concessions but the company has planned for months to lock out workers.