By Lucy Adautin
Journalists at major Australian newspapers, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Australian Financial Review, began a rare five-day strike on Friday over a heated pay dispute, just before the Olympic opening ceremony.
This strike marks a significant act of industrial defiance in Australia’s struggling news sector.
An estimated hundreds of journalists under Nine Entertainment have walked out from newsrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
Additionally, several sports writers sent to cover the Paris Olympics will strike, even though Nine paid $200 million for broadcasting rights.
“The Australian public relies on these journalists to keep them informed, to hold power to account and to shine a light on corruption and wrongdoing, but they cannot do it without safe and secure jobs,” said union representative, Michelle Rae.
Reporters picketed outside The Age newsroom in Melbourne, holding placards and wearing white T-shirts that read: ‘Don’t torch journalism.’
The strike centers on pay negotiations, tensions have escalated due to management’s recent plan to cut up to 90 newspaper jobs across the company.
“It’s totally unacceptable that the company is asking workers to make a choice between a modest pay rise and the possibility of more job cuts,” said Rae, adding that staffs were seeking a “modest pay rise” in line with inflation.
Similar to newsrooms worldwide, declining print revenues and the rise of social media have driven multiple rounds of job cuts in Australia’s media industry.
