Nine journalists begin strike ahead of layoffs and the Olympics

Nine journalists are on the verge of going on strike after wage negotiations ended with only a meager increase. Up to 90 jobs are still to be cut in the publishing sector.

According to Capital Brief, talks last Thursday were led by Nine Publishing’s managing director Tory Maguire and HR and culture chief Michael Trafford and stalled not far from where they started in mid-March.)

UPDATE: Pedestrian CEO resigns as Nine announces further staff changes at publisher

Staff at the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times and WAtoday were offered a conditional 3% pay rise provided they agreed to a common pay grading system for all publishing staff.

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The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance managed to secure a 3.5 percent pay rise for News Corp staff last month, telling its nine members that both figures were below the national inflation rate of four percent, which rose last year.

MEAA’s first proposal came in March, calling for a three-year contract that would give publishing staff an 8% pay rise in the first year and two 6% increases thereafter. Nine’s then management rejected these proposals and offered annual increases of 2.5% for three years.

The union has also begun preparations for a protected action ballot ending on July 19, during which members can vote on the possibility of a strike. This would be the first strike by newspaper workers since 2017.

With the Olympics starting a week after the voting deadline, the timing is not ideal for Nine. The company has already announced the 18-strong team of journalists that will cover the Games for the broadcaster. The team includes Herald and Age chief reporters Jordan Baker and Chip Le Grand, European correspondent Rob Harris, sports editors Chloe Saltau and Ian Fuge, and Walkley Portrait Photographer of the Year Eddie Jim.

MEAA members at Nine Publishing have already passed a vote of no confidence in CEO Mike Sneesby after the boss announced that between 70 and 90 of the 200 planned job cuts would be in the publishing division.

Sneesby said the focus at the publishing division is to “make up for the revenue losses from the Meta deal and the challenges in the advertising market,” although those conditions are being felt not just by the publishing industry but by the entire company.

The personnel request, which was passed the same day that Sneesby made the cuts, pointed out the following:

“We are demanding an explanation from the company as to why the job cuts appear to have been disproportionately high in the publishing division, given the publishers’ recent strong financial results at a particularly difficult time for all print media, and given that the meta-money was spent across the company and not just on the publishers.”

The motion also suggests that revenge may play a role, citing possible reasons for Nine’s targeted firing of journalists as “recent poor conduct and cultural issues in other parts of the company, which have been widely reported, and the role that the publishing division’s independent reporting has played in maintaining the reputation of the company’s news division.”

Tory Maguire also expressed her dismay in a speech to her staff: “This is the first time since 2017 that we have had to cut editorial staff. This is an extraordinary anomaly when you look at other news publishers in the country and the rest of the world.”

It is worth noting that the last strike by union workers took place in 2017 after Fairfax announced 150 layoffs.

Mumbrella has contacted the MEAA for comment. Nine declined to comment on the potential strike action.