New offer gets Herald journos back to work

May 27, 2001

Media Release

New offer gets Herald journos back to work

Striking journalists at the NZ Herald will return to work tomorrow (MOnday) to consider a new offer from the company.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union advocate Tony Wilton said that members would cut their current strike short by 24 hours to consider the offer.

“They will return to work at 9am tomorrow,” he said.

“While the new offer does not address the key issue of workers’ right to choose whether they will be covered by the collective agreement or not, the journalists are returning to work as a sign of good faith,” Mr Wilton said.

The company has now offered journalists a three-year deal with a two per cent pay rise each year. Inflation is currently three per cent. It originally offered 1.5 per cent for a one-year deal.

It has also now offered a lump-sum payment of $500 before tax, but has not backed away from its insistence that more than 30 journalists be automatically excluded from coverage by the collective agreement.

“This dispute was never about money,” Mr Wilton said.

“Our members believe that all NZ Herald journalists except senior editorial executives should have the right to choose whether to join the collective agreement. We stand by that, but we are willing to talk.”

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