Demanding: Jeremy Dear
The NUJ has lodged a group-wide pay demand at Trinity Mirror seeking a five per cent rise for its regional newspaper journalists.
It is the second time the union has adopted a group-wide approach to regional pay. Last year it targeted Newsquest and the union now claims to have won average pay rises between four and five per cent at newspapers where it was bargaining.
The demand comes a month after Trinity Mirror’s regional newspapers division reported rising half-year profits of £75m – a profit margin of 27.7 per cent.
The NUJ is also calling for an additional day’s holiday for each five years’ service, the re-opening of final salary pension schemes and guaranteed time off in return for unpaid overtime.
NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said the claim was reasonable and affordable.
The NUJ claims to have official recognition at all Trinity Mirror’s major centres.
According to the NUJ wages for graduate trainees on Trinity Mirror papers start from around £10,500.
Dear said Trinity Mirror had been targeted because local negotiations had failed to tackle the issue of low pay. “At Johnston Press we’ve been able to achieve a more constructive approach with the company and pay has risen at a faster rate than at companies like Trinity Mirror and Newsquest.”
A Trinity Mirror spokesman said the company would be replying to the NUJ but declined to comment further.
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