The Financial Times management has made a concession to its journalists who have been in dispute over a pay offer (see here and here and here).
The company has agreed to pay a further 0.5% in addition to the previous award of 2-2.5% but it insists that the overall offer still amounts to 3.5%.
Members of the National Union of Journalists, who had been engaged in industrial action and had threatened to strike, have accepted the deal.
In a letter to staff, managing editor Lisa MacLeod explained that the improved offer followed a review of the editorial budget, which showed that "as of our numbers from last week, we expect to be on track this year after a difficult 2011."
She continued: "We also now have a clearer picture of staff movements and deployment following the voluntary redundancy programme launched late last year.
"As a result, we will pay, at the mid-year point, a further 0.5% to all FT editorial staff from the balance of the overall 3.5% payroll increase.
"This 0.5% will be consolidated into salaries from July 1 to year-end and is in addition to the award of between 2 and 2.5% made to all FT editorial staff in January."
MacLeod added the award "recognises the hard work and vital contribution of our editorial team within the context of an extremely challenging commercial environment."
But she also warned about the continuing need "to manage costs prudently through to the end of the year."
At the time of writing, I had not heard back from the NUJ chapel.
Source: FT
