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Nine newspaper staff vote for industrial action on eve of Paris Olympics

Unionised staff at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Australian Financial Review are set to take industrial action for the first time since they were owned by Fairfax Media in 2017.

John Buckley
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The prospect of strike action next week threatens to derail Nine’s coverage of the Paris Olympic games, the opening gambit of chief executive Mike Sneesby’s $305 million bet on the games through to Brisbane in 2032. AP/David Goldman.

Unionised publishing staff at Nine Entertainment have voted to take industrial action for the first time in seven years, a move that threatens to derail the company’s plans for the Paris Olympics.

The move was decided Friday afternoon, after a strike ballot conducted by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, a union representing journalists, returned a 90% vote in favour of industrial action following months of stalled pay talks.

The result paves the way for Nine’s newspaper staff to take action the first time since staff of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and the Australian Financial Review went on strike in 2017, when the mastheads were owned by Fairfax Media.

Journalists could take action as soon as next week. However, details of when the action would occur and for how long will be hashed out by unionised staff in a meeting scheduled for next week, unionised staff were told Friday afternoon.