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Financial Times journalists want to strike over a multimillion 'pensions robbery' after Nikkei bought the company for $1.3 billion
(The Financial Times)
Journalists at the Financial Times appear to be getting ready to strike over a pensions dispute.
A report from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) suggests the disagreement stems from "management's refusal to honor pension commitments" to the tune of about $5.7 million (£4 million) at the FT, after the publication was bought by Nikkei.
Nikkei, a Japanese financial news outlet, acquired the Financial Times in a $1.3 billion deal following a bidding war with German media giant, Axel Springer last year.
If the proposed 24-hour strike happens, it would be the first for journalists at the UK-based Financial Times in 30 years.
Of the number of NUJ journalists who voted in November (171 people), 92 percent, or 157 members, voted in favor of a strike for what they call a "£4 million pensions robbery." The union, which represents journalists in the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe, has condemned Financial Times executives, accusing them of "stalling" during negotiations and rejecting "two compromise offers from the pensions reps."
The National Union of Journalists issued a ruling that says in part:
"In light of the deadlock in the negotiations, we support the NUJ stance of taking strike action in defence of our common aim that the FT must honor its commitment to fair and equivalent terms and conditions for all after the Nikkei takeover."
The statement notes that a strike vote does not rule out further talks on the matter. The Financial Times has issued the following statement concerning the negotiations:
We believe our proposal reaches the right and fair balance for the FT and all of our employees. The new FT defined contribution pension plan is among the best offered anywhere. It is as good and in some cases better than the previous plan, used by the vast majority of employees. For the approximately 180 FT Group employees impacted by the change, in addition to maintaining all of the pension benefits they accrued in the previous plan, we are offering £13m in dedicated funding to help manage and reduce the impact on future benefits.
Editor's note: this post originally stated that 92 percent of NUJ members voted in favor of a 24-hour strike. The post has been corrected to reflect the appropriate number of members who voted.
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