A one-day strike in protest at Trinity Mirror closing the final salary pension scheme to new starters brought up to 150 National Union of Journalists members onto the picket line in Birmingham, and another 50 in Coventry.

Staff at the Birmingham Post and Mail and at Coventry Newspapers, which publishes the Coventry Evening Telegraph, took the action on Friday.

The newspapers appeared as normal – but Birmingham father of chapel Chris Morley said the point of the action was not disruption, but to register a protest.

He said: “It was about putting Trinity Mirror on the spot about the double-dealing they are doing on pensions.

“It really will cost new people coming to work for Trinity Mirror.

“It has cast doubt on the company’s commitment to pension schemes. We don’t know what the future holds.”

The company said less than 100 staff walked out in Birmingham and coverage of events in the two cities was unaffected.

A spokesman for Trinity Mirror said: “In general staff understand the reasons behind the decision on pensions, which are taken in the best interests of the company.

“Only a small minority of staff voted in favour of this action and in any event the company has made its decision.

“It was very much a case of ‘business as usual’.”

He added that the company pension schemes are run in accordance with schedules of contributions aggress by the trustees, the company and the appropriate scheme actuary, all of which is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Pensions Act 1995.

The union claims that a trainee starting in August last year would pay five per cent of their salary if they joined the pension scheme, which would eventually bring them a 14 per cent contribution from the company.

A trainee starting now would get only a seven per cent company contribution – but only if they passed on seven per cent of their wages, according to the NUJ.