Journalists in Bristol to go on strike for first time since 1970s

Reporters at the Bristol Post are going on strike on Friday in a dispute over pay.

The journalists will be joining colleagues at both local and national publications owned by Reach, with a picket line due to be outside the Post’s offices on Baldwin Street – the first time journalists have gone on strike in Bristol for more than 40 years.

Staff at Reach were given a one per cent pay rise in 2021 and in 2022 have rejected an offer of three per cent, with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) asking for 8.5 per cent.

NUJ Bristol branch treasurer Paul Breeden said that staff working for Reach “have already suffered years of historically low pay, and now the contempt with which Reach plc treats its journalists is catching up with the management”.

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Breedon said: “The issues with low pay will shock people. Reach employees in this region have had to use food banks to feed their families.

“Journalists are required by the company to live in the communities they report on, but with such low wages being paid to young reporters, they struggle to find anywhere in Bristol they can afford.

“Then, to complete the gaslighting, the Reach management make reporters write about their own struggles with the housing crisis in Bristol and the West Country, oblivious to the bitter irony.”

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A total of 14 journalists have left the Bristol team since the start of this year – more than half of the Post’s editorial staff, who still produce a daily newspaper as well as contribute to the website Bristol Live, where individual reporters have targets for how many clicks their stories receive.

In July, Reach announced that it would be paying half-year dividends to shareholders of £14m, while those at the top of the company are paying themselves record amounts.

Writing in Press Gazette, NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “Let’s be clear – no-one wants this strike. Workers only ever contemplate industrial action as a last resort.

“Reach employs hundreds of enormously talented journalists – they are motivated by serving their communities and keeping the public informed, not by a desire to picket their employer.

“Instead of threatening staff with lost share scheme bonuses and whipping up fear with talk of job losses, Reach should be trying to resolve this dispute and come up with a solution that addresses the financial pressures its journalists and their families are facing.”

Wednesday’s Bristol Post newspaper – photo: Martin Booth

The four strike days arranged so far are August 26, August 31, September 14 and September 15.

Joining Bristol Post staff on the picket line will be journalists from the Western Daily Press, Bath Chronicle, Gloucestershire Echo, Gloucester Citizen, Western Gazette, Wells Journal, Shepton Mallet Journal, Central Somerset Gazette and Cheddar Valley Gazette.

Main photo: Martin Booth

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