Nine journalists secure ‘agreement’ with management following strike
A five-day strike carried out by Nine journalists has reached a resolution.
On Wednesday evening, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) confirmed that striking union members have secured an “in-principle agreement” with management.
The MEAA confirmed that the agreement “will deliver an inflation-busting pay rise this year (4%, 3.75%, 3.75%), ethical use of AI in newsrooms and a way forward for freelancers to get a fair deal on pay and conditions”.
“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,” acting director of MEAA Media, Michelle 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.”
Rae said that despite the good news for members, it was “disappointing” that it took a strike to come to an improved offer.
“This could have been avoided if Nine’s managers had listened to the concerns raised by union representatives over many meetings,” she said.
“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.”
It comes after the journalists from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times, and WAtoday returned to their desks at 11am on Wednesday morning after going on strike last Friday in a bid to take “a stand for newsrooms that reflect the diversity of the communities they are reporting for, for ethical and transparent use of Artificial Intelligence, and for better wages”.
“We are pleased to confirm we have reached an in-principle agreement with the union on a new EBA,” a Nine spokesperson told Mumbrella.
“We welcomed the MEAA’s decision today to resume negotiations, which supported a swift resolution of the outstanding issues. The new deal provides certainty for the business and our people as we continue to produce world-class journalism for our readers.”
At the commencement of the strike on Friday, WAtoday writer Emma Young took aim at Nine management and called on executives to give up their bonuses for the financial year just gone and the next coming, and to reinvest that money to save jobs instead.
“A profitable division of a profitable company should not be cutting jobs,” Young said.
“How many jobs could have been saved if TV personalities with nothing to do with the Olympics weren’t going to bed right now in luxury hotels in Paris? How many jobs could they have saved if this board had done more to prepare for the exit of Meta funding that they knew was coming?”
The offer approved today will be subject to a formal vote after which it will be submitted to the Fair Work Commission for approval.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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