Thomson Reuters staff accept pay offer and call off strikes

Thomson Reuters employees have called off a planned 48-hour strike after voting to accept an enhanced pay deal.

The journalists, who are members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), have agreed to a 3% pay increase, which includes a minimum pay rise of 2.5% and an additional 0.5% available for merit raises.

Steve Adler, editor in chief at Thomson Reuters, said: “I was very pleased to hear that we reached an agreement with the NUJ on 8 February, approved by the union membership, and have been able to avoid a strike.

“We listened to the NUJ’s concerns and, during extensive negotiations, went back with an improved pay offer. The agreed-upon 3% increase includes a minimum pay raise of 2.5% and an additional 0.5% available for merit raises. This is an appreciable increase over 2011’s 1% overall budget.

“I would like to thank everyone who played a part in resolving this strike. I am especially heartened that everyone involved worked so hard to reach an agreement that enables us to keep publishing the outstanding journalism our customers rely on in London and around the world.”

Mike Roddy and Helen Long, chapel officers at the NUJ, said: “The settlement redefines the relationship between the NUJ and the organisation and puts us on track to work constructively on urgent issues of pay transparency and a new agreement.”

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary at the NUJ, added: “We are pleased management have backtracked on the derisory pay offer.

“This deal sets the tone for future negotiations between the chapel and management, and I hope the pay deal sends a strong message to other organisations in the media industry.”