Members of the National Union of Journalists employed by the Irish Examiner and Evening Echo newspapers voted this evening to hold another two-hour work stoppage on Friday, as part of their continuing industrial action for a 24% pay increase.
The time of the stoppage has not yet been decided. Some 112 reporters, photographers and sub-editors at the newspapers attended tonight's mandatory two-hour meeting at a Cork city centre hotel.
A spokesperson for Examiner Publications, Barry Colgan, refused to comment on the outcome of the meeting, saying the company had not been officially informed of the decision yet.
Afterwards, Des Fagan of the NUJ said his members had decided not to take any further action until Friday in order to allow for talks on entry-level pay.
According to Mr Fagan, the company had indicated a willingness to discuss this contentious issue in letters sent to over 400 staff last weekend informing them they were being put on protective notice.
Notice to cover for strike action: company
The protective notice was necessary, the company said in the letters issued, in light of any potential damage to the business that might result from any industrial action.
In an earlier statement, Examiner Publications said it hoped the necessity for lay-offs will not arise and that the current issues will be resolved by normal industrial relations procedures.
It added that other unions representing around 70% of staff had already accepted its offer of an 11% increase over three years, plus the continuation of profit-sharing arrangements.
However, the NUJ's Des Fagan said his members had been left with no option but to pursue their claim for fair wages through industrial action.
He said his members work for a national newspaper but receive little more - and in some cases less - than colleagues working on regional papers.
The current pay structure, he said, was put in place in 1995 at a time of great difficulty for the company but it had laid the foundation not just for its survival but also for its expansion.
Staff at Examiner Publications have not been party to any of the national wage agreements over the past decade.
