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September 13, 2024

Guardian journalists get 3% pay rise

The salary rise follows the conclusion of a voluntary redundancy round.

By Bron Maher

The Guardian has agreed a two-year pay deal that will see the salaries of most of its journalists increase by 3%, backdated to the start of April.

The deal will apply to all Guardian News and Media staff on permanent or fixed-term contracts who are unionised via the National Union of Journalists chapel.

In the second year of the deal, from 1 April 2025, NUJ staff on those contracts will receive a further salary increase of either 2.5% or the February 2025 rate of CPI, whichever is higher.

These boosts come on top of a £2,000 salary increase for all staff in April.

The deal comes after GNM closed a voluntary redundancy round that saw around 30 journalists, including several high-profile names, leave the organisation.

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The company is due this month to publish its accounts for the 2023 financial year, which in February were forecast to show a £39m deficit.

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At the time GNM attributed the issue in large part to “the downturn in ad revenues affecting all media organisations”, although reader revenue, while up year-on-year, also lagged behind budget in the first quarter of the financial year. In the preceding financial year, ending 31 March 2023, the company increased revenue for the fourth year in a row but reported a £21m loss.

In April 2022 GNM awarded “the majority of staff” a pay rise of at least 5.5%, with higher percentages for those making £45,000 or less. Also that year, amid the cost of living crisis, the company made a £1,000 one-off payment to staff earning £45,000 or less.

Guardian chief financial and operating officer Keith Underwood told the FT Strategies News in the Digital Age conference this month that GNM was preparing to launch an e-commerce platform as part of a push for further revenue diversification. Currently the publisher raises much of its revenue through direct reader support, its legacy print product and print and digital advertising: the e-commerce bid will see it generate additional income when customers make purchases through its website.

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Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly dose of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
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