Irish Times staff in line for 2pc pay rise this summer 

IRISH Times staff are set for a 2pc pay rise this summer.

The news publisher has advised the Dublin Printing Group of Unions it will pay the increase from July.

A spokesperson at the National Union of Journalists said the group of unions was informed at a meeting last Friday.

It is understood that the payment is part of a profit-sharing arrangement, which is in place for a number of years.

Last year, the Irish Times reported a 46pc rise in operating profit to €3.82m during 2019.

A fall in print sales and advertising revenue was offset by a rise in digital subscriptions during the pandemic.

Readers took out paid subscriptions at three times the rate of sign-ups in 2019 during the Covid crisis.

The publisher reported strong weekend print sales, cushioning the impact of a fall in advertising revenues.

Its turnover rose 17pc to €110.1m, up from €94.4m, during a year that saw the first full year of trading by the Irish Examiner and other assets acquired from Landmark Media Investments in 2018.

At the end of 2019, the newspaper had 89,688 digital and home delivery subscribers.

Group managing director Liam Kavanagh said that growth of 6pc in consumer revenues during the year was driven by an increase in subscribers.

He said the objective is to be less dependent on print revenues, which are shrinking, and more on digital content.

Payroll costs were €53.6m in 2019, up from €46m.

Online Editors