U.S. journalists of Reuters Group Plc launched a four-day byline strike on March 21, and all employees “worked to rule” to protest demands for salary cuts and offshoring of jobs to Bangalore, the Newspaper Guild of New York said.

“With their byline strike U.S. editorial employees also are protesting management’s quality-threatening experiment in remote control journalism that has moved coverage of thousands of U.S. companies to cheaper, less experienced journalists in Bangalore, India, and threatens more jobs. Some foreign-based journalists have said they would withhold their bylines in sympathy,” the guild said. Members of the guild have alleged that Reuters executives have enriched themselves at workers’ expense.

“The job actions by Guild members at the London-based news and information company’s Reuters America LLC subsidiary –– withholding bylines and credits from their work and giving no more to their jobs than what is required –– follows the recent disclosure of a bonus bonanza for Reuters top executives as company revenues fell,” the guild said.

“Our members are asking why they should give Reuters one iota of their talent and effort more than required when they’re being asked to accept less and their bosses are cleaning up,” New York Guild President Barry Lipton said.

According to the guild, the company’s 2004 annual report showed CEO Tom Glocer’s compensation up for each of the past three years that revenues have fallen, this time to $10.5 million, including stock and options. The $4.5 million cash portion of his package rose about 22 percent from 2003. Two other top executives got raises of 11 percent and 12.6 percent. In contrast, the guild said, “employees have seen nothing but cuts.”

(Compiled from a press release by M. Chooki)