Sources at Fairfax Media say that it is “up in the air” as to whether staff at the publisher’s various major mastheads will return to work at the end of the walkout at 3pm today, while management has threatened to dock wages and potentially terminate staff involved in the “unlawful” industrial actions.

Yesterday, saw around 500 members of staff at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age walk out after the publisher announced “proposals” which would see the photographic desks of the newspapers shrink from 50 photographers to ten, further outsourcing of sub-editing and further editorial cuts to the lifestyle sections. The strike was supported with subsequent walk outs by staffs at The Canberra Times, Illawarra Mercury, Newcastle Herald and a partial walkout of union members at the Australian Financial Review.

Staff at newspapers in Sydney and Melbourne have told Mumbrella there is still uncertainty about whether they will vote to return to work following further stop work meetings to be held at 3pm today.

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“It is very much up in the air as to whether we go back to work”, said one Fairfax senior reporter. “The strike could definitely potentially go on. I’m not saying it will but there is definitely the potential for it to.

“I don’t think people will vote to go back. Management has gone too far this time we need to take a stand,” said another SMH staffer.

The uncertainty comes on a day when Fairfax management have been forced to put out smaller editions of the newspapers using only AAP wires and copy filed before the walkouts. Similarly the websites for the two mastheads, two of the most visited in the country, have had only a handful of update from newswire copy since the action started.

Yesterday Allen Williams, managing director of Australian Publishing Media, sent an email to staff threatening disciplinary action, docking the wages of staff and possible termination for staff who participate in the industrial action.

He wrote in the email: “The company will also consider taking disciplinary action against those employees who participate in any unlawful industrial action, which may include the possibility of terminating your employment.

“There is no difference between participating in an unlawful strike and simply not attending for work without a proper reason. We consider both examples to be an unauthorised absence, damaging to your mastheads and a breach of your legal duties to the company.”

The email appears to have only fuelled staff anger, although previous Fairfax strikes have also seen similar correspondence.

“I think people are sick and tired of management,” said another staffer. “To send that email… I mean really. Are they really going to staff 600 plus staff? It’s not helping.”

The House Committees of the Herald and Age are understood to be meeting today to discuss what their members wants from management. Understood to be among the demands are that Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood address the staff, working groups be established between management and staff and for alternatives to be established to help retain photographers and subeditors in-house.

There is also a picket line outside the office of Fairfax headquarters at Darling Island, while some Fairfax staffers have been tweeting images of the best Fairfax photography to highlight the issue.

Other sources have suggested that even if staff do vote to return at the 3pm stop work meeting this will not be the last of the industrial actions.

“We will go into the stop work meeting where the floor will decide what we do next, but even if we do go back to work, this is the start of a process it is not the end,” said one Age source.

“The problem with strikes at Fairfax is that they have been one offs where staff let off some steam and then come back and fold. We can’t let that happen this time.”

Fairfax have failed to respond to requests for comment on the email to staff.

Nic Christensen

Allen’s Williams, email to staff: