National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members at Newsquest Oxfordshire titles, which include the Oxford Mail, the Oxford Times and the Witney Gazette, today voted to ballot members over strike action, the union has confirmed to Journalism.co.uk.
If the ballot votes in favour, union members would strike for 48 hours between 6 and 7 January 2010.
The Oxfordshire group would be the latest regional division of NUJ members to consider taking industrial action: yesterday Journalism.co.uk reported that Newsquest northeast journalists voted for strike action and members of Newsquest Hampshire announced plans for a ballot for industrial action.
Earlier this week the union's members at the Southern Daily Echo and Brighton Argus both gave notice of a second set of strike dates next week, on 7 and 8 of December.
The wave of strikes is a response to an ongoing pay freeze at Newsquest that has been in place since 2008 and the publisher's recent decision to close its final pension scheme to future accrual. The Argus action is also in response to plans to relocate the title's subbing operations to Southampton.
Newsquest has not yet responded to a request by Journalism.co.uk for comment.
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
Related articles
- What can generative AI actually do for ordinary journalists?
- Five key takeaways from the UK select committee on the future of news
- How Reuters, Newsquest and BBC experiment with generative AI
- How to integrate a solutions mindset in your newsroom
- Newsquest experiments with audio to boost audience engagement and subscriptions
