More than 50 journalists at Newsquest’s newspapers in Bolton and Bury have taken out a grievance against the company in protest at a change in the date on which they get paid.

The group has told staff across the country that it is standardising pay day to the 26th of each month.

But National Union of Journalists members are complaining that they haven’t been consulted.

Staff in Bolton are currently paid on the 15th of every month, but in March they will be paid on the 21st and every month after that they will be paid on the 26th.

Bolton and Bury father of chapel David Thomson told HoldtheFrontPage: “The company has refused to discuss this with the NUJ because it says this is not a pay issue.

“We feel this is being brought in against our will and it is causing a lot of upset. We are worried about the impact on people’s finances.

“People will have to change their standing orders and could be faced with fees – we feel we ought to be compensated.”

A joint grievance letter signed by 51 journalists from the Bolton Evening News and Bury Times was sent to local management, asking for a meeting to discuss the issue, but David says they were told it wasn’t a union matter.

He added: “Individual grievances have now been submitted, which the management has forced us to do.

“We have asked that the changes do not go ahead until the grievance procedure has been sorted out, but we have been told that it will.”

Bolton Evening News editor-in-chief Steve Hughes declined to comment, saying it was a group-wide matter.

A group spokesman for Newsquest was unavailable.