PSO Pearson Plc

LONDON—Journalists at the Financial Times on Thursday voted to strike over union fears that the paper's final salary pension scheme is under threat, just four months after Nikkei Inc. struck a multibillion-dollar deal to acquire the British newspaper.

The National Union of Journalists, a labor union for journalists in the U.K. and Ireland, said nearly 92% of staff who participated in the ballot voted in favor of a strike.

The union said FT management has put new proposals on the table and union representatives will meet later Thursday to discuss the offer and whether to go ahead with the strike, which it said could be timed "to co-incide" with the day Nikkei takes over the organization.

In a statement last month, the NUJ said Nikkei and FT management had failed "to honor promises over maintaining equivalent terms of employment", citing proposals to take at least £ 4 million ($6.11 million) a year from pension funds to pay for rent and other costs.

The NUJ says Nikkei wants to use the money to pay for the running costs of the newspaper's offices at One Southwark Bridge in central London. The offices weren't included as part of the agreement struck between Pearson PLC and Nikkei earlier this year. The $1.32 billion deal will see Nikkei adding the salmon-colored FT to its stable of assets, which includes Nihon Keizai Shimbun, as well as other publications and broadcasting operations.

"This overwhelming vote shows the widespread anger over attempts to backtrack on a commitment to maintaining our pensions after the takeover," said Steve Bird, head of the FT's NUJ chapel, in a statement published by the union.

"FT senior managers have completely lost the trust of their staff including most senior journalists. We will be seeking talks with our new owners and expect a clear commitment to make good any shortfall on our pensions," said Mr. Bird.

The union's national organizer, Laura Davison, said: "At its heart this dispute is about the promise made to all staff in the wake of the FT sale—a commitment to fairness and equivalence in future."

The FT and Nikkei weren't immediately available to comment Thursday.

Previously, a spokeswoman for the FT said the publication is "hopeful" it can resolve the argument. She added that the row wouldn't threaten the agreement between Pearson and Nikkei, nor push back completion on the deal. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of this year.

The spokeswoman has previously said that savings stay within the FT and will be reinvested in the business and in people.

The FT says the FT Group has approximately 600 journalists, with a third as NUJ members.

The FT's NUJ Chapel disputes that figure, saying the FT Group has 484 contracted journalists in the U.K., excluding local hires, administration and support staff, with about half members of the union. It says a third are under the final salary pension scheme.

Pearson shares rose 0.3% in midafternoon trading.

News Corp, which owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, competes with Pearson's book publishing, business-news and education divisions. News Corp also competes with Nikkei.

Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@wsj.com<mailto:simon.zekaria@wsj.com>

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2015 10:45 ET (15:45 GMT)

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