Guardian Media Group brings in pay freeze

by Dan Leahul, Brand Republic 16-Feb-09, 09:45

LONDON - Guardian Media Group has imposed an across the board pay freeze for 2009 in anticipation of a difficult year ahead.

The pay freeze will apply to GMG's wholly owned business, which also includes Guardian.co.uk, MediaGuardian.co.uk, the Manchester Evening News and GMG Radio.

Trader Media Group and Emap, which are partly owned by GMG, will not be affected by the pay freeze.

As a result, there will be no pay negotiations this year for Guardian News and Media staff, who voted for a 4.8% pay increase in 2007, with inflationary growth in April 2008. That pay deal was up for review in March.

Bonus pay for commercial staff has also been scrapped, however sales staff will still receive income from individual commissions.

A spokesperson for GMG said in a statement: "GMG is a strong, diversified group, with solid financial foundations. However, it is important that our businesses take prudent, responsible steps to adapt to the current climate and prepare for what is widely expected to be a very difficult 2009.

"These steps are designed to protect those businesses for the long term and minimise any impact on people's jobs."

The Guardian and the Observer remain the last two national titles yet to announce staff cuts or redundancies since the economic downturn.