Strike action continues at Bradford Newsquest

Journalists on Bradford Newsquest titles were continuing their action over pay this week with a 12-day strike due to end on Sunday.

The NUJ claims that 48 journalists supported the action, at the company which publishes the Bradford Telegraph & Argus and associated weeklies.

Bradford Newsquest managing director David Coates condemned the strikers. “They have taken 17 days of action without disrupting or affecting any of our titles or editions and all they are managing to do is further alienate the majority of their colleagues who are working normally. It’s a great shame that a minority of militant staff are able to disrupt the lives of the majority of their colleagues who have made it clear they do not agree with their actions,” he said.

But an NUJ spokesman responded: “We have been offered a pay rise of 2 per cent which is below inflation. It is not militant to reject a pay cut. We have had 48 journalists supporting the strike this week which is more than at any other point in the dispute.

“We believe we are affecting the papers. Some stories have been written by senior executives and some people have been drafted in who are not qualified journalists.”

This week journalists on Newsquest’s papers in Bolton and Bury began new strike action over pay. The NUJ members have set no date for a return to work and say they will strike “until further notice”.