Guardian boss offers last-ditch Observer concessions ahead of strike

Staff on The Observer who move with the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper to Tortoise Media, will be offered continued access to Guardian job openings as part of a last-ditch compromise deal being offered ahead of the company’s first strike in decades.

Sky News has obtained a memo sent to Guardian Media Group employees on Monday by Anna Bateson, the company’s chief executive, which outlines a revised package aimed at placating furious journalists as they prepare to take industrial action on Wednesday.

In her note to staff, Ms Bateson said she and Guardian editor Kath Viner “hear the passionate cases being made by colleagues about the proposed sale of the Observer”, and said that journalists who do not wish to transfer to Tortoise Media would be offered a “time-limited” voluntary redundancy scheme.

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She said that “enhanced redundancy terms would be maintained post-transfer for a period still being negotiated”.

Sources said the Scott Trust, The Guardian’s ultimate parent, was due to hold an online meeting on Monday afternoon amid huge unrest from the company’s editorial staff and other stakeholders.

Last week, Dale Vince, the eco-entrepreneur, confirmed that he would be interested in investing in The Observer if the sale to Tortoise Media fell through.

Sky News revealed in October that the Scott Trust would continue to own a stake in The Observer if the deal went through, but at the weekend The Sunday Times said this had been superseded by a commitment being negotiated for the trust to become a shareholder in Tortoise Media itself.

The first in a series of two-day strikes is due to begin on Wednesday, with some department heads who are union members said to feel conflicted over the strike action.

In her memo on Monday, Ms Bateson wrote: “We recognise that some people may not wish to transfer to Tortoise Media and we would offer a time limited voluntary redundancy scheme to Observer staff on the same terms we did over the summer.

“Our current enhanced redundancy terms would be maintained post-transfer for a period still being negotiated.

“Observer staff who move to Tortoise Media would also have the opportunity to apply for “internal only” open roles at the Guardian for a period still being negotiated.

“Freelance contracts would be extended until the end of September 2025 and renegotiated at that point.”

She added that those transferring to Tortoise Media “would retain the same job titles, salaries and benefits, including sabbatical rights, should the deal go ahead via ‘TUPE’ [Transfer of Undertakings [Protection of Employment]]”.

And she insisted: “Our priority has always been to preserve the Observer’s 233-year legacy and ensure the proposed agreement is as strong as it can be for staff, readers and the future of liberal journalism.”

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Tortoise, which was co-founded by the former Times editor James Harding, has pledged to retain the newspaper’s focus on areas such as the arts and culture, and said it would invest £25m in it over a five-year period.

However, that pledge has already been tested by the resignation of Jay Rayner, The Observer’s long-serving restaurant critic.

A GMG spokesperson declined to comment further.