NUJ members at Yorkshire Post and more than 100 regional National World titles are to strike for 3 days.
Earlier today, the National Union of Journalists released the results of a strike ballot sent to 327 of its members at the publisher.
In total 248 votes were cast, with 193 (78.14%) answering yes to the question: Are you prepared to take part in strike action?
54 (21.86%) said “no.”
When asked whether they were prepared to take part in industrial action “short of a strike.” 210 voted yes (84.68%), while 38 (15.32%) stated they weren’t.
The ballot came because journalists opposed a 4.5% pay award, but talks between the union and publisher broke down earlier this year.
Following meetings this afternoon, representatives unanimously voted for 3 days of strike action on 18th, 22nd and 25th September, with work to rule starting on 19th September.
“This ballot result is an historic moment for our members at National World, many of whom have been with the company since the days of Johnston Press and later JPIMedia. It marks the first time that a company-wide ballot over pay has been undertaken within this business under any of those owners, with our members having reluctantly accepted real-terms pay cuts or pay freezes from their current employer and previous owners for too many years,” read a statement from the NUJ.
“The result in favour of strike action sends a very clear message to the company. Our members simply cannot afford to allow the many issues with pay at National World to persist – and they know that the company’s future sustainability relies on its ability to recruit and retain properly trained journalists. Paying some journalists 2019 rates, imposing real-terms pay cuts on many more and allowing existing pay disparities to worsen is not the way to protect the valued newspapers and websites that this company owns.”
