May 3, 2018

Al Jazeera management to attend arbitration talks over pay dispute with staff in London amid planned strike action

Management from Al Jazeera English will meet with an arbitration body in order to settle staff disputes over pay amid planned strike action.

Journalists and management from the Qatari-based broadcaster will meet at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service on 4 May with the aim of resolving their workplace disputes ahead of the planned strike.

Al Jazeera journalists based in London announced that they would strike for 24 hours from midnight on 9 May over claims they have not received a pay rise in more than four years .

They say this is equivalent to a 9 per cent pay cut after inflation.

The strike is being carried by members of the National Union of Journalists and Bectu unions. A joint union representative said: “We are committed to making every effort to find a resolution to this dispute.

“We are hoping that after more than three years of negotiations, Al Jazeera management will come to ACAS this time with a pay offer that adequately recognises the hard work of their staff.

“But members are totally united in their determination to press ahead with the planned industrial action if no such offer is forthcoming.”

The NUJ will be taking part in discussions with ACAS and has said it sees this as a positive step in settling the matter.

The NUJ’s BBC Radio and Future Media chapels have expressed solidarity with Al Jazeera English staff, saying in a joint statement: “Unless journalists are paid properly, there’ll be no such thing as press freedom.”