The Morning Star newspaper has agreed a two-year pay deal with its journalists, avoiding threatened strike action.

The dispute was settled after NUJ members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) agreed a new two-year pay deal, which is worth £900 this year with the promise of an additional pay rise next year.

Employees also secured a new family-friendly agreement with special pay rates for working unsocial hours, giving all journalists at least an extra four days off a year in return for bank holiday and Sunday working.

Michelle Stanistreet, deputy general secretary at the NUJ, said: “We have achieved a significant new deal that meets the aspirations of members for better pay and conditions while recognising the difficult financial situation the paper faces.

"For the first time our members have secured an agreement on bank holiday and Sunday working and the pay deal is as good as any in the industry.”

The deal now has to be endorsed by the management committee of the paper's owners, the People's Press Printing Society.

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