Journalists at rightwing Daily Express set to strike over pay

theguardian.com:

The Daily Express has repeatedly warned its readers that “militant trade unions” are bringing Britain to its knees – but this week many of the newspaper’s own staff will go on strike in protest at the outlet’s low pay.

They will join journalists at sister outlets including the Daily Mirror, the Daily Star and dozens of local newspapers in striking on Friday. It marks the start of a month of industrial action designed to disrupt production at the news outlets, which are all owned by publishing giant Reach.

Although one journalist at the titles acknowledged that a rightwing anti-union newspaper going on strike is a “satirist’s dream”, they insisted there is solidarity between unionised staff across all of Reach’s titles, regardless of their political stance. Members of the National Union of Journalists voted to go on strike after rejecting bosses’ offer of a 3% pay rise as not enough to cope with the cost of living crisis.

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While Reach chief executive Jim Mullen took home £4m last year, many of his journalists say they are struggling financially. Starting salaries for reporters on Reach’s national newspapers are about £22,000 – well below the median average British salary for jobs that often require extensive training and experience. Regional newspaper journalists can earn under £20,000, with many now facing increased energy bills due to a permanent shift to home working. One issue facing striking staff on Reach’s local newspapers is that it is unclear how they can picket their workplace, given that Reach has closed most of its local newspaper offices.

Matt Capon, an organiser for the Mirror branch