00:00With the strike of a bell, newsrooms clear out.
00:07Hundreds of editorial staff across Nine's newspaper division in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane
00:12and Perth walked off the job this morning.
00:17Nobody wanted to be here today.
00:19We as journalists don't want to be on strike.
00:22We want to be writing good stories, holding everyone to account.
00:26But they feel they've been left with little choice.
00:29The months of negotiations led to another rejected pay deal by Media, Entertainment
00:34and Arts Alliance members last night.
00:37The company is offering us 3.5% this year, which is below quarterly inflation.
00:42The five-day strike has strategically aligned with the start of the Paris Olympic Games.
00:48Nine publishing staff in the French capital have vowed to join their colleagues in Australia
00:53and step away from the keyboard.
00:55In an email to staff this morning, Nine boss Mike Sneesby said he was profoundly disappointed
01:01by the industrial action and it was regrettable it came on the eve of the opening ceremony.
01:06But he said he's confident the coverage would be comprehensive and world-class.
01:13The strike comes three weeks after Mr Sneesby announced 200 job cuts across the company,
01:19including 90 in the newspaper division, adding to recent job losses at News Corp and Seven
01:25West Media, who have all blamed an advertising downturn and a decision by Facebook parent
01:30company Meta to not renew a $70 million deal paying media companies for their news content.
01:38Obviously a loss of $70 million in anyone's language and in any industry is significant
01:44on a per year basis.
01:46As part of the EBA, union members want a commitment to a more diverse workforce, transparency
01:51for audiences around the use of artificial intelligence and a better deal for freelancers.
01:57And they have not ruled out extending the strike beyond five days.
02:02We are an incredibly passionate group of people who want to keep that public interest journalism
02:07alive and unfortunately some of that is under threat.
02:12Swapping pens for placards in the hope it will lead to a better deal.
02:16For more UN videos visit www.un.org
