Newsquest agrees to discuss pay freeze after strike at Daily Echo

Regional newspaper publisher Newsquest has agreed to meet with journalist union representatives in Hampshire to discuss the ongoing pay freeze at the titles that has sparked industrial action at several titles.

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members at the Southern Daily Echo carried out two days of industrial action last week. The strike focused on a dispute over pay at Newsquest, where pay has been frozen since 2008, and plans to close its staff pension scheme to future accrual, which the group last week announced would go ahead with future pension growth ending on 31 March 2011.

Fellow journalists at Newsquest centres in the north east and in Blackburn have also voted to ballot for industrial action this week in response to the pay freeze.

But union members at the Echo called off a second 48-hour strike, planned for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, on Monday. Barry Fitzpatrick, head of publishing for the union, notified Newsquest's managing director for Hampshire Stewart Dunn of the plans and asked for a meeting between management and the union.

Throughout Journalism.co.uk's coverage of the pay and pensions dispute at Newsquest, no one from the publisher has been available for comment. But last night via email Dunn responded to the Daily Echo cancelling its strike: "I am pleased that the planned action has been called off at our Southampton offices and look forward to a meeting."

Fitzpatrick has confirmed to Journalism.co.uk that union representatives and Newsquest management in Hampshire will meet with a provisional plan for talks on Monday 29 November.

"We hope that we will resolve the issue of the pay freeze that's now entering its third year. We are sure that this [the issue of pay] can't just be about affordability. It must be just as much about assuring peoples' salaries as it is about reflecting the quality of the journalists that they employ."

The union has previously said that it is not ruling out further industrial action in  Southampton even if talks with management are arranged.

Staff at fellow Newsquest title the Brighton Argus are on strike today in response to the publisher's plans to move the newspaper's sub-editing operations to Southampton. The NUJ has claimed that the relocation will result in the loss of seven jobs at the title.

UPDATE: Southern Daily Echo editor Ian Murray has told Journalism.co.uk that the pay freeze and closure of pension scheme to future accrual will not be up for discussion when management meet with union representatives. Full story at this link...

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