News Corp staff accept 6% pay rise without new AI protections
The new deal, which does not include new workplace protections, comes amid mounting concern from union representatives over the ways AI is being used at the company.
Journalists at News Corp Australia have secured a new wage deal that includes a 6% pay rise over two years, but contains no new protections over the use of artificial intelligence in its newsrooms or compensation for deals with AI platforms.
The offer was voted on and ultimately accepted by local staff at the Murdoch-controlled media conglomerate in a ballot that closed on 24 June, according to two people with direct knowledge of the process who were not authorised to speak about it publicly.
The deal includes annual 3% pay rises, and an extension of the conditions agreed to last year, which saw the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance win rights for staff to be consulted by News Corp management over the use of AI at the company.
In the year since those talks, however, News Corp has significantly ramped up its use of AI across the wider business, sparking renewed concern among union representatives over use of the technology to produce journalism, and the company’s deal with OpenAI.
