STV journalists to go on strike over pay

Journalists at STV are set to go on strike over pay after talks with management broke down.

Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) will decide on Tuesday on the timing of any strike action.

The vote for action was overwhelming, with 89% of members in favour of the strikes on an 89% turnout.

Talks on pay broke down last month and the union is warning of a summer of disruption.

Nick McGowan-Lowe, the NUJ's national organiser for Scotland, said the result ought to "make the STV board wake up and listen to its staff".

He said: "Our members are dedicated and talented professionals who have made STV Scotland's most-watched peak-time TV channel for the fifth consecutive year - but they have had enough of being told they should accept below-inflation pay rises at a time when the company boasts of record revenues.

"This situation is quickly resolvable as soon as the company comes back to the table with a fair offer, but the longer they refuse to do so, the angrier advertisers and audiences will get as their favourite programmes are affected."

The union says some staff are being offered rises of 2.5% while the NUJ wants a 6% increase and hopes management will now make a new offer.

STV says its pay offer is fair and that more than half of news staff would get a rise of at least inflation.

The law means the union has to give two weeks' notice of a strike.

Any strike action would seriously disrupt news programmes.

Last week the company announced revenues of £168.4m for 2023, up 22% from the previous year's £137.8m.

Operating profit was down from £25.8m in 2022 to £20.1m in 2023, a drop of 22%.

A spokesperson for the company said they were disappointed by the result.

They added less than half of the STV newsroom were members of the NUJ.

BBC Scotland understands that the vast majority of editorial staff at STV News are in the NUJ although administrative, craft and technical staff may be in other unions or none.

The STV spokesperson stressed that all business sectors faced "sustained economic challenges".

They said: "This is the most difficult and prolonged advertising downturn that the commercial media sector has faced and STV is not immune from it. In this climate, the offer made to NUJ members is both fair and financially responsible."

The company said it had a track record of looking after its people and said employees had received salary awards as well as a "additional cost of living and bonus payments" over the past two years.

The statement added the offer has been accepted by the broadcasting union, BECTU, and that contingency plans are in place should the NUJ decide to go ahead with their strike.