Journalists employed by Nine Publishing are yet to come to an agreement with management over an ongoing pay dispute, with plans to strike on Friday 26 July still looking set to go ahead.

Mi3 understands that Nine's managing director of publishing Tory Maguire is currently meeting with staff at The Age in Melbourne and is set to fly up to Sydney this afternoon to meet with representatives at the Sydney Morning Herald at 3pm. A resolution is unlikely to be known until at least 5pm today, with the strike set to commence from tomorrow and continue for five days, should it go ahead.

Speaking to Mi3, insiders said the general sentiment is to carefully consider the proposition, noting Maguire's efforts show the urgency of the issue. The general sentiment is that the strike will most likely go head, though it has been acknowledged that Nine is attempting to take some steps towards meeting the demands of the newsroom.

"Today we have put a new and improved proposal to the bargaining committee and the newsroom floor that represents a fair and reasonable offer for our people. We continue to negotiate in good faith and remain hopeful of a resolution," said a Nine spokesperson. 

In the negotiations on Wednesday, it's understood Nine came back with an offer to increase pay by 3.5 per cent for the for first year, 4 per cent for the second year and 3 per cent for the third. It is understood that Nine journalists were asking for at least 4 per cent this year, and across the three-year period.

However, 4 per cent was rejected for the first year, with more job losses threatened should such a pay increase be upheld. More than 90 roles have already been cut from Nine's publishing division since June.

On the diversity front, Nine has agreed to do an annual diversity survey of publishing staff but decline to meet requests for quotas and targets. The company will also move parental leave from 16 to 18 weeks.

It is understood Nine has come a long way towards meeting AI requests and has agreed put AI consultation in the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).

"MEAA representatives met with Nine management yesterday and are willing to meet again today if management wants to. The ball is in management's court to make an improved offer to staff that addresses not only pay, but workplace diversity, the use of AI and the conditions under which freelancers are employed," said an MEAA spokesperson.

"Industrial action began this morning with members taking protected action by using social media to inform readers about the EBA deadlock.

"At this stage, there has been no change to plans to begin a five-day strike at 11am tomorrow. Rallies are being planned outside each of Nine's offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth at the same time as members walk off the job."

It's unfortunate timing for Nine, as the media company commences its broadcast of the Paris 2024 Olympics. The media company last year paid $305 million to secure the rights to the next eight years of Olympic events, culminating in Brisbane 2032.

- Additional reporting by Kalila Welch and Nadia Cameron