The Lancet faces its first strike over a pay dispute

The walkout on 22 September will be the first strike in The Lancet’s 200-year history, after staff overwhelmingly rejected the company’s pay offer. Members cite rising workloads, inflation and declining real-terms salaries, while Elsevier, the journal’s owner, reported £1.035 billion in adjusted operating profit in 2025.

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members working at The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals, are set to go on strike next week following a long-running dispute over pay.

The strike action will take place for one day on Tuesday 22 September outside The Lancet’s London office – the first time a walkout has been staged by staff in the publication’s 200-year history. Workers at The Lancet Group, comprising 29 monthly specialty titles as well as the weekly journal, are already holding action short of a strike this week and will do so again from 23 to 30 September. The union balloted members last month after the NUJ Lancet chapel overwhelmingly rejected the company’s pay offer following extensive negotiations with management. Members’ strength of feeling was reflected in the ballot results with 94.5% supporting strike action and 97.8% supporting action short of a strike on a turnout of 87.5%.

Staff at The Lancet have absorbed rising workloads, increasing expectations, and sustained inflation in recent years. This has led to a reduction in the real-terms value of their salaries, leaving many employees significantly worse off than they were five years ago despite their growing experience, expertise, and responsibilities.

The Lancet has failed to offer a significant real-terms pay increase to staff despite the company which owns it, Elsevier, making an adjusted operating profit of £1.035 billion in 2025, translating to a 7% underlying profit increase and a 38% profit margin.

NUJ members at The Lancet will strike next week under the slogan ‘Solidarity for

Science’. Individuals from across the scientific community have today (17 September) published an open letter addressed to Elsevier CEO Kumsal Bayazit, and Erik Engstrom, who is CEO of Elsevier’s parent company RELX, reflecting support for workers and fair pay. Huda Elmi, NUJ Magazines organiser, said: “”Management at The Lancet must listen to their dedicated staff. Our members would much rather be producing valued science journalism and scholarship, instead of having to stand on a picket. It takes real courage to sacrifice your pay to stand up for your colleagues, your profession, and the work you care deeply about.

Management should acknowledge that commitment and come to the table with a fair resolution.”. She also added thar “This action is necessary; it’s unacceptable that real-terms pay has stagnated over several years while workloads and living costs have significantly increased – and that management is so far unwilling to properly address this.

“The NUJ urges the company to recognise the essential role its staff have played in its financial and reputational success. That the scientific community has rallied in support of our members and their strike demonstrates this. “We reiterate that it is not too late for the company to resolve this dispute. However, any resolution is contingent on the company providing members with a sufficiently improved offer.”