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Inflation-linked pay formula brings journalists a 5.1 per cent rise

A pay formula struck in a deal after stoppages by journalists at Cumbrian Newspapers has netted a 5.1 per cent pay rise.

A 27-month salary deal, negotiated by the National Union of Journalists after action in April and June, hinged on the Retail Price Index figure for August.

Union members took their industrial action in the wake of the decision of the company to end the final salary pension scheme for all staff.

And now the union says that a rise in inflation in August brought an unexpected pay boost.

Despite a fall in other inflation measures last month, the RPI level rose 0.3 per cent to stand at 4.1 per cent.

Under terms of the CN Group pay deal, journalists will now receive that across-the-board increase, plus an additional one per cent, making 5.1 per cent in all – and brought in three months early to start next month.

At Carlisle News & Star a newly qualified senior reporter now starts on £19,110 while trainees come in on £15,288.

At the North West Evening Mail in Barrow, where pay had fallen behind their colleagues elsewhere in the group over the years, supplementary salary increases ranging from £100 to £1,200 will be paid, as well as the “core” across-the-board deal.

Colleagues at the weekly Whitehaven News will also get the core deal increase, which will bring an RPI plus 0.25 per cent rise for all journalists in 2009.

Northern Organiser Chris Morley said: “The three NUJ chapels at CN Group took principled action to achieve significantly better pay after the company pulled the plug on decent pensions.

“That effort was put at risk by the freak fall in inflation in the early summer but thanks to the rise in August’s RPI figure, balance has been restored.”