Nature on strike

Last month saw the first strikes by journalists working on the Nature Portfolio of journals run by the Springer Nature publishing company. The portfolio includes the world’s leading science journal, Nature.

93% of those balloted on a 90% turnout voted for action after staff rejected a 5.8% pay offer from the publisher. The strikes come as talks, which began in 2023 and were mediated by ACAS, broke down in April.

The last time Nature staff voted to strike was in the early 1990s, when the journal was owned by Macmillan. Action was suspended after the company entered talks. Should these strikes go ahead, it is potentially the first time that an issue of the weekly journal will be missed in its 155-year history.

An NUJ spokesperson said: “we knew that the majority of staff were frustrated with the company and the way it was handling these negotiations, but even we were surprised by the strength of feeling shown by this ballot result. This sends a signal to the company that they need to come back to the negotiating table.”