![[Freelance]](../gif/fl3H.png)
17 October 2023
The strike dates below are postponed. The union's national executive council had called on the general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, to seek the urgent intervention of the conciliation service ACAS.
9 October 2023
Journalists have served notice on National World that they will be striking five five further days from 23 October to 27 October.
Solidarity with National World strikers
JOURNALISTS at papers owned by National World will strike on Monday 18 September. Titles affected include the Scotsman, the Yorkshire Post, the News Letter in Belfast and the Sheffield Star.
Journalists will then begin a work to rule - not doing any work that is not specified in their contracts - on 19 September, with further strike action currently planned on 22 and 25 September. This action follows National World imposing a 4.5 per cent pay award after months of negotiations with the NUJ stalled.
Picket locations and times are available at www.nuj.org.uk/nationalworldstrike
The picket line in Sheffield on 18 September
Freelances have no right to strike in UK law, but they may find themselves unavailable if offered shifts on days when NUJ members are on strike.
Any NUJ freelance who suffers a loss of income as a result of turning down shifts offered during a strike should contact the NUJ Chapel (workplace-based unit of NUJ organisation) for that media group.
Watch for more...
Please look out for further action at BBC local radio and at BBC Cairo.
18 September 2023
London Freelance Branch backs the strikers
The NUJ London Freelance Branch (LFB) is backing colleagues at the National World group taking strike action.
The regional news sector has been battered and bruised by rapacious and profiteering publishing groups for 25 years - ever since they started to use technological change as an excuse for getting rid of staff rather than investing in their digital future.
It is high time that they were taught not to abuse the loyalty and professionalism of their journalists by demanding they accept a real cut in their earnings and the repeated threat of redundancy.
National World's executive chairman David Montgomery has been an aggressive proponent of this style of management for 30 years. Notoriously, when he was chief executive of the Mirror Group from 1992-99, the journalists called him "Rommel" - because "Monty was on our side".
LFB - the NUJ's biggest branch -- wants much better pay and conditions for staff and freelances alike. Our members will not offer work to National World publications, unless they are contractually bound to do so, while colleagues are on strike.
We applaud their action and will support them as far as they have to go to win a fair deal in their workplaces.