Journalists in the United Kingdom, under the aegis of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) are currently embarking on a peaceful protest demanding higher wages as the cost of living continues to soar.

The protesting journalists are from Mirror, Express, Daily Record, Sunday Mail, Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Bristol Post, Birmingham Mail, Leicester Mercury, The Journal etc.

According to them, they were offered a 3% pay rise by the parent company Reach PLC, Britain’s biggest regional publisher, which they said was not enough to cope with the cost of living crisis, especially energy bills as they are working from home.

Speaking with DAILY INDEPENDENT, Corey Bedford, Father of the Chapel for Leicester Mercury said over a thousand journalists across the UK are taking part in the protest.

He said, “This protest is basically about our company, Reach PLC offering only a three per cent pay rise to its journalists for support across the board”.

” This comes after an increase in the cost of living prices, this comes after energy bills have shored up and the company is now making its staff work from home”.

“So obviously we absorb all the energy increases and we have to pay more because our company is forcing us to work from home”.

The NUJ which rejected the 3 per cent pay rise is calling for an 8.5% rise.

AE News