NUJ members at Newsquest's York Press titles have embarked on five days of industrial action sparked by the withdrawal of a pay deal to compensate video journalists
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Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at Newsquest York yesterday started a five-day strike following disputes over a pay increase to compensate multimedia workers.
NUJ journalists at York Press titles are striking over a pay increase offer of three per cent and the withdrawal of an additional 0.5 per cent pay increase for journalists working in video, which would be paid at the editor's discretion.
The promise of discretionary pay rewards for video staff was revoked during a dispute at the end of last year, Jennifer Lennox, assistant organiser of the NUJ North of England, told Journalism.co.uk, but industrial action on this issue has not been taken until now.
"They've [journalists] only been offered three per cent and they [Newsquest] won't be doing any negotiating on rewarding people for taking on extra skills like video journalism at all now," said Lennox.
"The pay situation epitomises for these journalists that they are not being rewarded for taking on extra work. Essentially it's not more people, it's just more work to be doing."
A press statement from Newsquest York suggested the 0.5 per cent discretionary pay offer was still on the table.
"The management at Newsquest York is astonished that the NUJ has decided to take strike action over the company’s pay offer for 2008.
"The company believes its offer of three per cent across the board with an extra 0.5 per cent available for discretionary payments is looking increasingly attractive as the economic situation becomes ever more challenging," said Steve Hughes, managing director of Newsquest York.
Hughes described the NUJ's calls for Newsquest to return to negotiations as 'a bit rich'.
"After eight months of protracted talks, it was the NUJ who walked away by balloting for industrial action and rejecting the company’s offer of mediation through ACAS," he said.
The strike will end just before midnight on Monday.
