Staff at The Guardian’s Australian outpost have applied for a protected industrial action ballot after negotiations with management over its latest pay deal hit an impasse.

The media company’s 140 local workers, the vast majority of them unionised, overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday afternoon in favour of a protected action ballot, arguing management’s current deal does not secure a sustainable future for journalism at the publication.

The ballot means staff can then vote on action, which could vary from speaking publicly about the company and adding union signatures to their emails to walking off the job.

Union staff at Nine’s mastheads, which include The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, walked out for five days in July in a fight over their three-year pay deal.

An improved offer was accepted just hours after the journalists returned to work.

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While The Guardian’s negotiations also centre on a three-year deal, unlike at Nine, the top-line financial details of the deal are not the primary sticking point for Guardian staff.

The journalists’ union, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), said the key issues for Guardian workers were bringing redundancy provisions in line with industry standards, installing provisions for freelancers, performance rights and diversity clauses.

Pay does remain an issue, however, with the current offer of a 4 per cent pay increase in the first year, followed by 3 per cent rise in the second and third years not considered adequate, according to some staff.