Journalists on Reach titles to strike over pay

The Reach group includes the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Manchester Evening News

Journalists at a leading newspaper group are to strike in a dispute over pay after voting heavily in favour of taking industrial action.

Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at Reach, including the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Manchester Evening News, will walk out on August 26 and 31 and September 14 and 15.

The union said its members voted by 79% in favour of strikes and 88% for other forms of industrial action, on a turnout of 70%.

The company has offered a pay rise of 3%, with a minimum of £750, said the union.

Reach said it was not the outcome it wanted, but that it remained focused on ensuring the group had a sustainable future and had contingency plans to keep disruption to its titles to a minimum.

Chris Morley, of the NUJ, said: “Our members have delivered a powerful message to Reach chiefs with the results today of this landmark ballot.

“It is unprecedented in the company’s history that more than 1,000 of its journalists have been mandated to take strike action and other industrial action.

“The fact that such a strong outcome has been achieved in the face of significant postal issues and in the peak holiday season should tell the company how determined our members are to achieve a better deal on their pay.

“We very much hope that the company has the good grace and humility to recognise it made a mistake in making this poor offer against the backdrop of this cost-of-living turmoil.

“Rather than trigger the planned damaging walkouts by doing nothing, senior management are urged to now come forward with meaningful proposals to resolve the dispute.”

A Reach spokesperson said: “We greatly value our journalists and are disappointed that, despite our best efforts during the negotiation process and successful agreements with Unite and the BAJ, we have been unable to reach an agreement with the NUJ.

“Whilst this is not the outcome we would have wished for, we remain focused on protecting the interests of all our colleagues, ensuring the group has a sustainable future in the face of an uncertain economic backdrop.

“We have contingency plans in place to keep disruption to our titles to a minimum and are working to support our journalists who choose not to take action.”

Published: 13/08/2022 by Radio NewsHub