FT chapel wins progressive pay deal
NUJ members at the Financial Times voted to accept a pay deal for 2023 at a very well-attended FT chapel meeting on Wednesday.
Under the terms of the progressive deal, all staff earning up to £50,000 will get at least 10 per cent, with a consolidated pay rise of up £4,200 paid to all those earning up to £42,000. Minimum and starting salaries are also set to increase by 10 per cent from 1 January.
FT chapel reps believe that these are welcome moves following months of challenging but constructive talks with FT management. Steve Bird, Father of Chapel at the FT NUJ chapel, said:
"Throughout the negotiations, the NUJ argued strongly that no member of staff should suffer a real-terms pay cut. Although the final figures fall short of the chapel's initial aims, acceptance of this significantly improved offer sends a strong signal about the value of collective bargaining backed by strong member support and involvement. We hope that this agreement will be seen as a benchmark across the media industry highlighting the importance of investing in journalism and of progressive pay deals."
The FT chapel committee believes that this deal delivers above-inflation increases for the lowest-paid while substantially mitigating the impact of inflation for many of those in the middle of the pay distribution. However, budgetary constraints are still likely to cause pain, and staff on mid to higher salaries will face real-terms pay cuts. The chapel intends to press management to increase the total size of the pay pot in future years.