NUJ Reach pay settlement
NUJ members have voted to accept a revised pay offer from Reach plc.
Following a ballot of all NUJ members across Reach, the NUJ group chapel met today and acknowledged the outcome of the ballot result and the decision to accept the company’s revised pay proposal, a process in which over 76 per cent of members cast their vote.
The group chapel paid tribute to the collective work and solidarity of members across the group to secure a settlement that delivers significant pay rises to over 700 journalists, many of whom are the lowest paid staff, and improved redundancy terms and conditions for many members in currently in receipt of statutory minimums. Including increases secured in July, it will see pay rise for these workers in deals ranging from 14 to 44 per cent across the specified roles and minimum rates.
Ahead of the negotiations for pay in 2023, which commence this autumn, NUJ reps pledged their determination to build on the achievements to date to deliver further improvements in pay transparency, higher rates of editorial pay, and meaingful career progression over the coming months.
In accepting this revised pay deal, the NUJ’s Reach group chapel made it clear that this new deal, which delivers significant improvements for many journalists across the group, is just the beginning. Continuing to advocate for improved pay and conditions for all members will be their priority in the coming period. It is testament to the hard work of NUJ reps and members across Reach that we have seen such great strides in recruitment and organisation.
The NUJ will now enter into an agreed process with the company to identify outstanding pay anomalies and agree uplifts across other parts of the editorial bargaining unit, including across the group’s national titles, a process due to conclude by the end of this year. The company has also agreed to work with the union to develop collective bargaining processes in Ireland. This will be a vital start to the process of working together with the company to building a meaningful career progression structure and achieving better pay transparency.