FT journalists vote for strike action

• 19 November 2015
• From the section Business

Journalists at the Financial Times have voted for strike action over proposed changes to their pensions.

The changes have been proposed by the paper’s new owner, Japanese media group Nikkei, which bought the FT three months ago for £844m.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said journalists voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action,

It said almost 92% of members balloted backed action, showing their “anger and disgust over FT’s broken promises”.

The NUJ accused the Financial Time and Nikkei of failing to honour equivalent terms of employment promises made following the takeover of the newspaper group in July.

It said that on Monday, senior managers put forward new proposals to the union, which it said it would be considering before making a final decision over whether to call its members out on strike.

Steve Bird, NUJ representative at the Financial Times, said senior managers had already lost the trust of their staff including “most senior journalists”.

He added: “We will be seeking talks with our new owners and expect a clear commitment to make good any shortfalls on our pensions.”