Press agency bosses have announced they are boycotting Reach plc titles in solidarity with the publisher’s striking staff journalists.

The National Association of Press Agencies says several of its members will not file copy to or work for Reach titles on the days of the strike action, which began this morning.

The action has prompted NAPA chairman Jon Harris, left, to write to Reach in protest at the company’s “paltry” rates of pay to freelances claiming his organisation’s members have faced their own cost of living crisis for years.

In his letter to Reach group editor-in-chief Lloyd Embley, he cited “outdated” freelance rates of just £60 paid by Mirror Online for stories and pictures, while claiming sister titles the Daily Express and Daily Star sometimes pay as little as £10 for a story.

Jon, managing director of Manchester-based Cavendish Press, said he wanted to “highlight the equally parlous financial plight of freelancers and agency journalists who contribute every day to the daily news lists of various Reach titles across the UK”.

In his letter, he wrote: “To put it bluntly, agency and freelance fees for words and pictures are now so paltry and outdated, our members have been fighting their own cost of living crisis for years – long before the current one engulfing this country.

“The reality is rates have barely risen in 40 years and in many cases have been cut, despite our members tirelessly providing ongoing quality content every day to your publications.

“Sadly this stagnation in fees is now making it in many cases, uneconomic for us to keep filing material on a speculative basis and in some cases even taking on commissioned work.”

The National Union of Journalists says an estimated 1,150 members working for Reach plc titles began the first of four days of strike action this morning in a bid to secure an increase in salary.

It comes after the union previously rejected a salary increase of 3pc or £750, whichever is more, from Reach on the grounds that such a raise would not be enough to help journalists to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Subsequent talks have failed to produce a settlement, with the NUJ claiming Reach chief executive Jim Mullen personally vetoed a deal struck over the weekend.

The publisher has said it remains “open to further talks at any time”, while a three-day walkout by the union is planned from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 September.

Jon added: “The usual Reach plc excuse of ‘challenging trading conditions’ is simply not realistic now given the multi millions of pounds paid to directors and shareholders at Reach and its substantial operating profits.

“Historically freelancers and agencies are often celebrated as the ‘lifeblood’ of news lists for national publications yet over the last four decades they have been barely recognised when it comes to financial remuneration.

“Whatever happens with the Reach journalist strike, there needs to be an urgent root and branch review of paltry payments made to our members not least in the interests of them providing ongoing invaluable newsworthy material.

“I fear without a proper increase in rates, agencies and freelancers will gradually cease to exist, the ultimate losers being yourselves and your readers – and that can be of no benefit to anyone.”

HTFP has approached Reach for a response to Jon’s letter.