Journalists at the Coventry Evening Telegraph and its associated
weeklies were planning to stage a 24-hour strike on Friday over pay,
writes Sarah Lagan.
Parent company Trinity Mirror is sticking to its offer of 2.75 per cent plus £200 a year on minimum pay bands.
The
NUJ is pushing for a minimum senior rate of £19,000 for journalists on
the Evening Telegraph, compared to the management offer of £18,882.
NCEqualified senior journalists on the weeklies have been offered
£14,000, compared with the union’s demand for £14,500. Trinity Mirror
said it is implementing a “competency-based” salary structure.
MoC
Barbara Goulden said: “A paper that can’t value its journalists can’t
value its readers. Senior journalists on this paper are paid less than
dustbinmen.”
A Coventry Newspapers spokesman said: “The company
has no intention of reviewing its decision regarding the 2005 pay
review, and we fail to see what this action will achieve.”
Meanwhile
a postal ballot on industrial action is being held at Newsquest’s South
London Guardian, which incorporates around 20 titles, after union
members rejected a three per cent pay offer.
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