Journalists at leading Scottish newspapers call off strike action

Journalists at multiple Scottish news titles have withdrawn plans to strike on Friday after talks resumed over a pay dispute.

Staff at Reach, which includes the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, had been due to walk out on 26 August.

But the strike by National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members was cancelled.

The union said there had been a breakthrough in “bringing the company back to the negotiating table”.

But it added a second planned strike day next Wednesday, 31 August still stood, pending the outcome of negotiations.

They will be overseen by Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

It follows a similar move by NUJ members at National World Scotsman Publications – which include The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News – who had also planned strikes in a dispute over compulsory redundancies, but called them off last week.

Reach’s titles also include the Scottish Daily Mirror, Scottish Daily Express, Scottish Daily Star, Paisley Daily Express, Stirling Observer, Perthshire Advertiser, around a dozen other local newspapers plus the company’s online Live websites.

The company has offered a pay rise of 3%, with a minimum of £750, which the union has described as “unacceptable”.

General secretary Michelle Stanistreet said on Thursday evening she welcomed the invitation to talks and “both sides will enter into the process of negotiations in good faith and with a sense of urgency”.

“The NUJ is committed to achieving a fair outcome,” she added.

A Reach spokesman said the company was pleased the NUJ had accepted its offer to meet with Acas for further talks, which they hoped would be held “at the earliest opportunity”.

“This is a positive and significant step in finding a way forward for everyone,” he added.