Journalists at Nine Publishing will put further industrial action on hold after management put forward a new offer at an enterprise bargaining agreement meeting today.
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance members at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times and WAtoday have overwhelmingly voted to accept the offer in-principle at meetings on newsroom floors this afternoon.
The new offer was made after journalists returned to work this morning at the end of a five day strike.
The acting Director of MEAA Media, Michelle Rae, said the offer satisfied key demands including a pay rise above inflation (4%, 3.75%, 3.75%), ethical use of Artificial Intelligence, a commitment to report on diversity in the workplace and an agreement to negotiate for a fair deal for freelancers.
"Our members should be very proud that their solidarity with each other and their commitment to their role of public interest journalism has produced this outcome," Ms Rae said.
"In an historic first, staff and freelancers stood side-by-side so that no-one was left behind.
"They took a stand to protect quality journalism at their mastheads and it's clear from the massive public support for the journalists while they were on strike that readers want access to quality journalism and the boards of media companies need to find a new business model.
"The public does not except that job cuts is the solution. They want to know AI is used ethically, that both staff and freelancers have secure working conditions, and that newsrooms are representative of the diverse community they serve.
"It is disappointing that it took a strike to focus management on coming to the table with an improved offer.
"This could have been avoided if Nine's managers had listened to the concerns raised by union representatives over many meetings. Instead, the company's earlier failure to resolve the enterprise bargaining agreement and its announcement of up to 90 job cuts has caused reputational damage to Nine."
The offer approved today will be subject to a formal vote after which it will be submitted to the Fair Work Commission for approval.
