NEC Meeting January 2009

On 23 and 24 January I attended what was undoubtedly the gloomiest NEC meeting I have ever been to. Over the course of the two days we heard again and again of the savage wave of job cuts sweeping through our industry.

The worst low point in the crisis so far saw 200 people made redundant in a single 24 hour period, NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said.

But almost every day now sees more announcements of job cuts. I lost count of the number of times colleagues stood up to ask for the General Secretary to be given "contingency powers to ballot for industrial action" - the legally required first step for any NUJ strike or similar protest in the UK.

The scandal of the situation is that most of the media laying off journalists are still making healthy profits of between 14 and 30 percent. In most cases they clearly using talk of the global financial crisis to slash costs further rather than truly being obliged to lay staff off.

In this context, it was agreed that the NUJ's priority for the foreseeable future must be to do everything it can to stand up to the cuts and fight for members whose livelihoods are under direct threat. Any other initiatives will have to take second place to this over-riding imperative.

We also heard how freelance members are being affected by the crisis in our industry. Colleagues from the freelance office and freelance industrial council presented evidence to show that the overall amount of work available to freelances is clearly shrinking. They also warned that the job cuts are likely to see more people becoming freelancers.

In other words, we are looking at a situation where more and more people will be trying to secure a slice of an ever-smaller cake. In such a desperate situation, it is vital that freelancers do not undercut each others' rates. Freelance officers were particularly concerned that members who have a second source of income - perhaps a partial pension or redundancy payment - do not accept below par rates for freelance work.

In the current situation, it is important to remember that members who may be made redundant don't forget that they are still welcome to stay in the NUJ, on reduced subs if necessary.

RECRUITMENT, RECRUITMENT, RECRUITMENT
We contstantly need to recruit new members, the Union's long term well being depends on this, so don't hesitate to spread the word to potential new NUJers on our patch.

If you need help or advice when it comes to recruiting there is a great deal on offer. Those of you in branches will of course be able to get expert help from your branch officers.

For the rest of you, please feel free to contact me or Continental European Council (CEC). Freelancers can also get in touch with Teresa Robins, our representative on the Freelance Industrial Council (FIC). Links to the CEC and Teresa can be found in the 'contacts' column on the right.

You can also always conact head office if needs be. Deputy General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet is the person to talk to there when it comes to recruitment questions. Michelle's email address is michelles@nuj.org.uk


CONTINENTAL EUROPEAN MATTERS

LINKING AGREEMENTS WITH EUROPEAN TRADE UNIONS
From the continental Europe point of view I informed colleagues of Paris branch's ongoing, positive talks with the French unions about updating its linking agreement. I explained that the agreement is vital to NUJ Paris as it will enable the branch to have the same kind of industrial influence, particularly in workplaces, that the Union has in the UK. In the current climate of job cuts, being able to negotiate with employers and take industrial action if necessary will be no luxury. The deal, once finalised, would go a long way to ensuring that NUJ members in France enjoy a similar level of service from the union to members in the UK and Ireland, I explained.

It's hoped that the new Paris deal will prove a useful model for linking agreements with journalists' unions in other continental European countries where such accords don't already exist.

I mentioned the recent case of a member of Brussels branch who had received support from the Union to cover some of his legal expenses linked to a bullying and unfair dismissal claim. While the money was welcome, I also pointed out that there had been some concerns about an apparent break-down of communications between Headland House and Brussels, which meant it took some time for help to come. The situation was finally resolved however.

VIRTUAL MEETINGS
I had an informal discussion with Adam Christie of the NEC's development committee about how efforts to draft rules on virtual meetings were progressing. The committee has been working on the issue since the NUJ's Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) in April this year, which passed a motion put by the Continental European Council (CEC) calling for clearer rules on this issue. Adam informed me that the committee's structure review had produced a report on reforming the union's structures, which covered this question. A draft motion will undoubtedly appear in the draft ADM agenda in the usual way, which the CEC would of course be free to amend if it so wished.

Adam also informed me that in the light of the current jobs crisis sweeping through our industry and in line with the NEC's decision to make this issue it's top priority for the foreseeable future, the review had now signed off on the virtual branches question. I should put on the record that I agree with Adam and the NEC's stance and that I too will be taking no further action on this issue but rather focusing my efforts for the remainder of my current NEC term on trying to fight to protect members jobs and working conditions in Europe.

USE THE WEB TO KEEP IN TOUCH
Until new rules on virtual meetings are agreed however, none of you should forget that there is nothing to stop you using email or social networking groups like Facebook to keep in touch if you so wish. Indeed you will see in the 'contacts' column on the right of this message (and on this blog) that several such groups already exist that all members in continetal Europe are welcome to join.

STANDING UP FOR FRENCH JOURNALISM
I mentioned that Paris branch would be supporting our French colleagues taking part in the 29 January day of action to protest about Nicolas Sarkozy's attacks on public services in general and French public service broadcasting and the media in particular.

Finally I informed NEC of Paris branch's continuing efforts to set up new chapels at France 24, AFP and RFI.

NEXT NEC
The next NEC meeting will be held on May 8-9 2009. Read more...

NUJ Jobs Summit 24 January

On January 24, the Union held a Jobs Summit in London. The idea was to come up with a strong and positive approach to the job cuts and ensure NUJ members don't lose the will fight.

The event was so popular that the venue had to be changed when twice the expected number of participants applied to take part.

I attended the morning session of the meeting, which featured a number of keynote speakers including Nick Davies, author of Flat Earth News - a damning exposé of modern newsrooms.

There were also several workshops laid on. I took part in a session on how to organise for industrial action in a work place.

The Summit adopted an action plan, which set out a number of key strategies for dealing with the jobs crisis. Copies of the plan and more information on the campaign are available on the main NUJ website.(http://www.nuj.org.uk) Read more...