Staff had been due to strike on Friday in protest at low wages but have suspended industrial action to allow further talks to take place. Parent company Reach had repeatedly insisted there was no way it could offer an improved pay deal – but called for negotiations to be reopened when faced with the reality that strike action would take place. Journalists had been offered a 3% pay rise, which they said was not enough to deal with the cost of living crisis. Many young local reporters at Reach – which also owns news websites such as the Manchester Evening News and the Live brand – say they struggle to make ends meet on salaries that can be under £20,000 a year. After a long and contentious debate, the National Union of Journalists agreed to suspend the first day of a planned strike on Friday to allow further pay talks. A source said the decision to call off strike action was not unanimous and it is now up to bosses to make a significant pay offer if they are to avoid further strikes planned for next week. Many journalists at Reach say they have been radicalized by the company’s hard-line stance on industrial action, which has included asking staff to declare whether they will be working on strike days. This was interpreted as the company’s way of finding out who was a member of the union. Many staff members said it would be difficult to rebuild relationships with managers. A particular point of contention is the £4m pay packet given to Reach chief executive Jim Mullen last year. The company insists that because much of that payment was in the form of Reach shares that have since collapsed in value, the figure is actually much lower. Like other publishers, Reach must contend with the increased cost of newsprint and the prospect of advertising being hit in a recession. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Even Express staff, who have often criticized unions in unions, voted in favor of the strike. This led the RMT union to send a message of solidarity to the paper’s staff.
