The strikers have now been threatened with a lockout:

Media Alliance alert: Company threat to staff
Saturday, 30 August 2008

Dear Fairfax member,

Members of your union’s negotiating team met with Fairfax management earlier today, following a request from the company. Ruth Pollard, Gerard Noonan, Chris Warren and Claire O’Rourke represented members, and the company sent Lloyd Whish-Wilson, Michael Gill and Greg Moses.

What the company presented at the meeting was an ultimatum.

The company told us that they would not allow staff members who are currently on strike to return to work on Monday unless we accepted the collective agreement offer in its current form.

This top-down ultimatum delivered today stands to directly breach undertakings the company made yesterday afternoon in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission not to lock out staff who return to work on Monday.

The company reiterated its ultimatum despite repeated undertakings from myself that no further unprotected action would take place and that staff were prepared to return to work as usual, on Monday morning, and thereafter, with no further bans in place.

Your representatives reminded the company that any action to lock out staff would be unlawful and if they were to exercise their threat, we would pursue the company in the AIRC.

Your national negotiating group met for two hours on Saturday evening to consider the situation.