Financial Times journalists will not take industrial action on day of takeover
NUJ members had threatened to leave a black mark on Pink ’Un on day Pearson relinquished ownership after 58 years as Nikkei takeover approaches
Financial Times journalists have delayed plans to take industrial action over pensions on the day the Nikkei takeover completes.
Almost 92% of members of the National Union of Journalists who participated in a ballot on Thursday voted in favour of taking industrial action over moves to end the final-salary pension scheme.
There was a 66% turnout of voters among FT NUJ members.
Staff had planned to take industrial action on the day the £844m sale to Japanese media giant Nikkei completes, expected to be 30 November, threatening to leave a black mark on the Pink ’Un as Pearson relinquishes ownership after 58 years.
Earlier this week, management made an improved offer, including plugging a £4m pension hole but just for 2016, following a trip to Nikkei’s Japanese headquarters led by chief executive John Ridding.
A motion was unanimously passed by the FT’s NUJ chapel after a meeting late on Thursday delaying the industrial action but calling for a more substantive offer to secure pensions.
“We note management’s proposal to restore £4m to the pension budget for one year, but we believe that a longer term solution remains vital to bring security to FT Group journalists,” the chapel said in a motion. “We would look to management to come forward with a substantive offer that gives staff the equivalence they were promised at the start of the process.”
The motion added that in light of the “serious mistrust” between staff and management, the option of industrial action remains on the table.
“We call on Nikkei to join us round the negotiating table as a way of breaking the log-jam,” the motion said. “We will not take industrial action on the day of the takeover but intend to call a mandatory meeting on the 3rd of December.”
A spokeswoman for the Financial Times said the company was disappointed that the threat of action had not been withdrawn while there are “ongoing consultations and sincere efforts to work toward a negotiated agreement underway.”
“While we do not take lightly any discontent amongst our employees, we must find the right balance between individual benefits (those who voted in the ballot represent a small minority of staff) and the sustainable financial future of the FT, for the benefit of all,” said the spokeswoman.
The FT has pointed out that 157 NUJ members of the 171 who participated voted for industrial action. That is 7% of the total number of FT employees, or 20% of journalists.
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