Journalists to strike at leading Scottish papers

Journalists at two leading newspaper groups have confirmed dates for industrial action amid separate disputes over pay and redundancies.

Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at Reach will walk out on 26 and 31 August and 15 and 16 September.

Meanwhile, journalists at National World Scotsman Publications are due to strike on 26 August and 2 September.

It means both the Daily Record and The Scotsman face strikes on the same day.

A spokesperson for National World, which includes The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News and Scotland on Sunday, said the company had no comment.

Reach includes the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Record, Sunday Mail and the Live sites.

The company said strikes were not the outcome it wanted, but it remained focused on ensuring the group had a sustainable future.

A spokesperson added: "We greatly value our journalists and are disappointed that, despite our best efforts during the negotiation process and successful agreements with Unite and the BAJ (British Association of Journalists), we have been unable to reach an agreement with the NUJ.

"We have contingency plans in place to keep disruption to our titles to a minimum and are working to support our journalists who choose not to take action."

The action comes after the NUJ claimed Reach had failed to increase its pay deal of 3% or a minimum of £750.

Staff will also be working to rule, when employees do no more than the minimum required by their contract.

National World staff voted for industrial action over compulsory redundancies following ballots, and separate action for those employed at the company's Scottish Weeklies.

John Toner, NUJ national organiser Scotland, said: "A meeting with National World management on Monday morning, held at the union's request, took us no closer to resolving the issues of compulsory redundancies at the Scotsman titles.

"It now seems likely that those titles will take strike action on Friday 26 August, the same day as the NUJ members at Reach are due to take action.

"We continue to believe that a resolution is possible, and we are willing to meet the employer at any point for talks."

The NUJ said its members at Reach voted by 79% in favour of strikes and 88% for other forms of industrial action, on a turnout of 70%.

Staff said they received a 1% rise last year, despite claims the company gave £7m pay packages to its two top executives.