Nine employees prepare to go on strike as wage negotiations drag on — Capital Brief

Unionized publishing employees at Nine EntertainmentAustralia’s largest domestic media company could go on strike within weeks as negotiations over a new collective agreement stall due to planned layoffs.

Representatives of Nine’s publishing house – including journalists from The Sydney Morning Herald, The ageand that Australian Financial Report — met with management on Thursday to negotiate pay. Nine offered a 2.5% raise, maintaining the department’s two separate pay plans.

The managing director for the publishing house Nine, Tory Maguireand the department’s head of human resources and culture, Michael Traffordled the talks, according to people with knowledge of the meeting. It came just days after Maguire addressed employees for the first time since taking over as CEO. Mike Sneesby announced that the company would cut 200 jobs in view of the difficult advertising market and MetaThe decision to abandon news contracts.

Between 70 and 90 jobs are to be cut in Nine’s publishing department. However, employees have not yet provided any information on how the jobs will be distributed.

On Thursday, staff were offered a conditional 3% pay rise if the department’s two pay scales – which provide different pay scales for designers and editors compared to journalists and other editorial staff – were merged. Nine and staff representatives are looking to sign a three-year deal through June 30, 2027.