Media firm Stuff is in negotiations with the union over pay. Photo / File
Media firm Stuff is in negotiations with the union over pay. Photo / File
A group of Stuff journalists is threatening strike action if the company does not reach an agreement with union representatives over pay, the Herald understands.
Stuff and E tū Union are currently in talks over pay, sources told the Herald.
Stuff’s stable of mastheads includes its namesake news website, TheDominion Post, The Press, and Sunday Star-Times. It also publishes several regional and community newspapers, including The Manawatu Standard, The Nelson Mail, Taranaki Daily News and Waikato Times.
If a consensus is not reached over the next few days, unionised journalists across the Stuff media group could stop working as part of their industrial action, the Herald has been told.
Sources speaking to the Herald under the condition of anonymity said that the negotiations involve two separate matters: pay rises, and then the structure that determines how future pay rises are decided.
Firstly, the union has requested a pay rise in line with inflation this year, followed by a 5 per cent increase next year. July data showed that inflation was at 7.3 per cent, the highest level in 32 years.
The Herald understands that Stuff has come back with a counteroffer below the figure requested but above what is currently offered to unionised journalists working at the company.
It’s understood that union and Stuff executives will be in discussion over the next few days in an attempt to reach a consensus.
The Herald understands that the other area of contention in the Stuff negotiations involves the union’s call for a step pay scale that dictates how much staff salaries should increase on a yearly basis.
This would mark a significant structural change to the way increases are currently determined.
Under a step pay scale system, annual salary increases are pre-set and determined by increments based on years of service.
The Stuff management team has been warned that if a consensus is not reached journalists may engage in strike action.
It’s incredibly rare for journalists to go on strike. It’s been more than two decades since journalists at the New Zealand Herald and New Zealand Press Association around the country walked off the job in 2001.
A source told the Herald that the Stuff strike action would first involve two-hour strikes on random days, escalating to a full-day strike in a week.
Any decisions on the nature of the strike action are only likely to occur later this week once negotiations have been completed and the union has voted on a decision.
These negotiations come at a tough time for staff amid a proposal to cut roles in regional offices.
Both Stuff and E tū Union declined to comment amid the ongoing negotiations.
Discussions regarding pay rises amid the cost of living crisis aren’t limited to Stuff.
A spokesperson for NZME, which owns the New Zealand Herald, confirmed that the media company had also been in negotiations with the union and had reached terms for an agreement.
Update: Stuff boss chides staff about leaking, leaked email reveals
Stuff’s Chief Content Officer Joanna Norris has now emailed editorial staff chiding those who seek to leak sensitive information about the company to rival media.
In an email titled “a note about how to leak well, or not at all” Norris described the leaking of details about the company’s pay talks with E Tū as a “fly in the ointment” to progressing the “good faith” talks with the union.
Norris told editorial staff planning to leak information to first discuss it with a trusted colleague or manager:
“There may be impacts of leaking things externally that you haven’t considered,” her email said.
“If you think the info is newsworthy, leak it to a colleague. It must be frustrating for our own journos to be beaten on stories. Back your own news judgement and the professionalism of our journos.”
Stuff's Chief Content Officer Joanna Norris chided staff over the leaking of details of the company's stalled collective negotiations.
