August date spells strike action across two Scottish newspaper groups
Journalists working at two companies in Scotland, on titles including The Scotsman, Daily Record and Sunday Mail, will be taking strike action on Friday 26 August.
Staff on Reach plc titles – including the Daily Record, Sunday Mail, Perthshire Advertiser, Stirling Observer, Dumfries and Galloway Standard and the Live websites – have voted for strike action and action short of a strike over the company’s failure to improve its pay deal of 3 per cent/£750 minimum increase.
The journalists received a 1 per cent rise last year and are particularly incensed by the £7m pay packages the company gave to its two top executives. The Reach titles will be on strike on 26 August, 31 August, 15 September and 16 September. They will also be working to rule.
The National World journalists voted for industrial action over compulsory redundancies following ballots at Scotsman Publications; and another for those employed at the company’s Scottish Weeklies.
The dates for the National World action at Scotsman Publications – The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News and Scotland on Sunday – have been agreed and the journalists will be striking on 26 August and 2 September.
John Toner, national organiser Scotland, said:
“A meeting with National World management on Monday morning, held at the union’s request, took us no closer to resolving the issues of compulsory redundancies at the Scotsman titles.
“It now seems likely that those titles will take strike action on Friday, August 26, the same day as the NUJ members at Reach are due to take action. This would mean The Scotsman and the Daily Record would face strike action on the same day. We continue to believe that a resolution is possible, and we are willing to meet the employer at any point for talks.”