Following two days of negotiations over the bank holiday weekend, talks between the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Reach have broken down with no deal.
NUJ reps unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in the chief executive Jim Mullen, added an extra strike day to planned industrial action and extended the work to rule, as the talks failed to resolve the dispute over pay.
While the strike was cancelled last Friday to make way for talks, the planned action this Wednesday will now go ahead, with a work to rule kicking in on the return of journalists on Thursday.
NUJ reps also agreed to issue notice of an additional day of strike action, meaning that a three-day strike will now take place from 13 to 15 September, followed by an ongoing work to rule from 16 September.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “Despite a settlement being in touching distance following exhaustive talks at ACAS, with significant collective effort on the part of negotiators for both sides, the company’s no-show chief executive kiboshed any chance of a sensible deal that addresses our members’ key priority – their consolidated pay.
“NUJ members are clear where responsibility lies here, and that is shown in a unanimous vote of no confidence in Reach chief executive Jim Mullen.
“This is a man who’s enjoyed a £4m package from Reach this year, yet is intent on denying journalists a fair pay deal, even though the business has cash in the bank that could easily ensure its staff don’t continue to suffer the damaging impact of this cost of living crisis and a severe real-terms cut in salary.”
Reach - which publishes the Daily Record and Sunday Mail in Scotland - had offered a 3% or £750 increase to staff, which was rejected by 79% of members in ballot results earlier this month.
Julia Warren, group HR director at Reach, stated in a message to staff that the company had explored all options and offered a number of additional enhancements for employees, meeting the majority of requirements put forward by the NUJ - including a career development framework that would have set out clearer salary progression for journalists.
”We are disappointed to let you know that unfortunately our offer has been rejected and therefore these talks have ended without agreement.
”It’s our responsibility to protect the interests of all our colleagues and stakeholders, ensuring our business has a sustainable future in the face of an uncertain economic backdrop.
”We are of course open to further talks with the NUJ at any time to resolve this dispute and to begin to deliver the substantial improvements we offered for our journalists,” she added.
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