Motion 149 was carried, instructing the National Executive Committee (NEC) for a change in the law to ensure that if employees are in the midst of a dispute with a company the employer is not allowed to outsource during the dispute.

It is a matter of human rights said Leeds branch, proposing the motion.

Leeds’ motion 150 aims at making all employers aware of the legal requirement in the United Kingdom which allows trade union representatives to get paid time off to carry out their duties. Guidelines from the legal department will be on the website within the next few days. The motion was passed unanimously.

Supporting Our Members

Manchester proposed motion 151 which instructs the NEC to give full backing to members who have been discriminated against because of their membership.

This motion is present because the branch believes that these members have not always been supported fully – but stress they are not calling for more financial help. It is merely about the way members are treated and welcomed by the NEC.

Jeremy Dear of NEC withdrew an NEC amendment to the motion saying that the NEC now better understood the intentions lying behind the motion.

He concluded: “It’s not about whether or not we support them it’s always about how we best support them.” The motion was carried.

Using Historical Media Campaigns As Examples

Using the 25^th anniversary of the miners’ strike as a platform for motion 152, ADM instructed the NEC to aid the campaign to defend standards in local and regional media. Those in favour told ADM it was appalling to no longer have national coverage of the daily working life of British people. The motion was passed.

Late Motions

Late motion 2 was proposed by Edinburgh and District branch and calls for support to the campaign in Scotland to fight against the poor handling of the Chamber’s Harrap closure in Edinburgh by the Hachette group.

It urges the NEC to do everything it can to to see if at least some part of the redundancies and Chamber’s name and brand as well as skills can be maintained for Scottish publishing. The motion was carried with no objections.

]]> http://www.nujadm.org.uk/trade-union-rights/feed/ 0 http://www.nujadm.org.uk/journalist-deaths/ http://www.nujadm.org.uk/journalist-deaths/#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:23:01 +0000 Aarti Thobhani http://www.nujadm.org.uk/?p=754 Death toll

Motion 141 passed, noting the death toll of media staff throughout the world.

It instructed the NEC to support the work of the International Federation of Journalists’ international support committee. The committee brings together the families of killed journalists to lobby for justice and humanitarian assistance in cases where they need long-term support.

Support for Russian journalists

Motion 142 was also carried, welcoming the launch by the IFJ and the Russian Union of Journalists of ‘Partial Justice’, a report which documents the killings of journalists in Russia between 1993-2009.

ADM noted that the report listed:

• over 300 deaths and disappearances of journalists; and
• that only a few of the deaths have been properly investigated resulting in killers escaping justice.

ADM instructed the NEC to support the Russian union’s campaign to improve the safety of its members and make killing or attempted murder of journalists a more serious offence.

Work with Zimbabwe

Motion 143 instructed the NEC to continue to develop its work with the Zimbabwean Union of Journalists to help Zimbabwean journalists improve their working conditions. It was carried.

Anti-Sikh massacres in 1984 India

Motion 147 instructed the General Secretary to write to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, urging the British Government to raise 1984’s anti-Sikh massacres with the Indian High Commissioner. It was carried.

Parvinder Singh of Book Branch spoke of how the Indian government believed that the anti-Sikh massacres in November 1984 were a natural reaction to the assassination of India Gandhi.

25 years later none of the key perpertrators have been brought to justice.

“NUJ is on the side of the widows in pursuit for justice and it’s high time that the Indian Government come clean,” he said.

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: “It is important for all peoples that we seek not just the truth about the events of 1984 and beyond in Punjab but that we also act for justice.”

Jeremy Dear, General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), said yesterday that the union’s National Executive Committee (NEC) would rethink the Training department’s funding in light of new proposals.

A motion brought forward to the union’s Annual Delegate Conference (ADM), suggested that the NEC should look into the profit-making possibilities of the training courses.

Although the motion had to be withdrawn due to an inaccuracy, Dear said the NEC would have backed it had it gone ahead.

He said: “Had the motion been in order we [the NEC] would have supported it. We would have investigated whether or not this was a possibility.

“NUJ training has a good reputation. It’s successful, and if we can make it more successful and available to more people then we’ll certainly look at it.”

Motion

Dear added: “Costs are a massive issue for us. Therefore we have to look at all the costs. But if this is something that could not be a cost but a benefit then we would not only keep it, we would expand it.”

The union was looking to cut one member of staff from the department as a cost saving measure.

Motion 132 instructed that the NEC should instead “investigate NUJ training operating as a profit centre, marketing its commercial course more aggressively and using its profits to continue providing cheap courses for members”.

The motion was withdrawn by the London Magazine branch over a mix-up about how the department’s salaries are funded. However, the principles of the motion will be taken on board.

Training

Last year the Training department ran 87 courses. 60 were in professional journalist training. The department also organises training for commercial companies and trade union training.

The Training department was also responsible for organising the students who have been reporting on ADM.

At the moment the union’s commercial training programmes are only advertised in The Journalist and on the NUJ website. One option would be to expand this marketing to bring in more commercial clients.

Over the last year commercial clients have included the Magazine company Informa, the Open University, Lexus Nexus and the Cabinet Office.

Linda King, the union’s Education and Training Officer, said: “We are getting more and more demand [for our courses] as members are losing jobs. In the current economic climate a way of retaining that membership is through retraining the individuals who have lost their jobs.”

We will watch the NEC’s progress with interest.

Links (open in new window)

NUJ Training

London Magazine Branch

The motion did not make an Israeli boycott NUJ policy, calling only for the union to call for an end to arms sales to Israel and for the union to go on a fact-fing trade union delegation to Palestine and Israel.

The NEC opposed the motion and delegates tried to remove the paragraph but Pat Healy of Standing Orders Committee said the motion had to be taken as a whole. Delegates voted overwhelmingly in favour.

The concern was that delegates were unaware that the motion would include this paragraph as it had not been printed in the Agenda.

Opposition

The National Executive Council (NEC) called on delegates to vote for an amendment which would have excluded the NUJ from the next trade union visit to the region.

“We want a freedom of action for our trade union that we’ve kept for 100 years and want to keep for another 100,” said one NEC member.

Other said they feared for the safety of their colleagues if they joined the delegation.

“I for one don’t want our colleagues to be put in danger just because want to nail our colours to the mast for the sake of our conscience,” said one NEC member.

Truth

But a number of speakers pressed home the importance of NUJ members taking part in the multi-union visit.

“The Middle East is not a football match where journalists can hold impartiality,” said David Crouch of the London Central Branch. “We must be on the side of those who suffer most.”

And another speaker added: “This is not about taking sides but taking a stand for the truth.”

Motion 146, which instructs the NEC to give assistance to journalists facing persecution in Sri Lanka and campaign against denial of basic rights, passed.

All motions concerned the role of new editor of the Journalist, Christine Buckley, and the state of the Journalist magazine.

Richard Simcox, from the Press and PR branch, said: “We’re really lagging behind in terms of how we run things. We could, and probably should be, following the students’ examples.”

All motions were passed of which motion 133 (covering motion 134) was unopposed.

Motion 133 – Increasing the role of the Journalist editor

Motion 133 (covering Motion 134), proposed by Press and PR branch, discussed the issues of convergence and the role of the editor of the Journalist (the NUJ Journal). It passed unanimously.

Under current NUJ guidelines the editor only has power to edit articles in the journal and those online which have been taken directly from the journal.

In the motion the ADM instructed the National Executive Council (NEC) to:

• Change the NUJ rules to increase the editor’s role – via a motion at next years’ ADM – to expand his/her responsibilities to editing all Journalistic news pieces on the website
• This will mean that the editor will have additional control over “union and other website pages” involving content taken from, or associated with, the union’s journal
• He/she will not have control over the whole site

In order to make the Journalist more prominent among members.

Leeds branch proposed an amendment to the motion arguing that a clause confirming the role of the editor as an “independent elected editor” – and giving them responsibility for all NUJ website content – would clarify the motion.

Press and PR branch asked conference to reject the amendment made by Leeds branch as gives the editor too much power. The amendment was rejected by a massive majority.

Motion 135 – Concerns over the frequency of the Journalist and lack of co-operation between the journal and the online content

Motion 135 (covering motion 136 to 140) – proposed by North Wales Coast, Manchester, Birmingham and Coventry branches – concerned worries that the ADM has with the communications strategy imposed by the NEC and the cutting of regular Journalist issues.

The motion outlined that the Journalist has been cut to six issues a year and that communications between all sectors of the Union are being damaged by cut-backs and incoherent publishing of online material – which is often not published in concert with the news in the Journalist.

The motion instructs the NEC to:

• Ensure that the website includes a daily link to the Journalist is displayed so users are aware of the journal
• To integrate the editor of the Journalist into the Union’s Campaigns and Communications department to ensure unity

Leeds branch proposed an amendment to the motion saying there should be a further section on the NUJ website specifically for unrelated Journalist matters. This was proposed to prevent a converging mess on the internet.

Peter Lazenby, from Leeds branch, urged that the amendment be passed. He said: “In the current state the Journalist – which is our trade press – is inadequate. We have to sort out the online section with the journal and get members involved. First that means highlighting the independence of the Journalist.”

The amendment was rejected by an overwhelming majority and the motion was passed.

A delegate from Bristol branch spoke to put forward motion 68, covering 69, which asks for a Photographers’ Industrial Council and a seat on the NEC for photographers.

East Yorkshire supported the motion but Tom Dawson from NEC stepped forward to achieve a remission over the wording and review of how to present the motion.

Motion 160 aims to encourage younger members into the union to make the NUJ relevant to them and develop a strategy for the next generation of activists.

The motion was put forward by Leeds branch and Deputy Secretary Michelle Stanistreet spoke to tell delegates about new money to fund a project which starts next month. Branches will be asked for ideas on this new project which will help younger members including assigning mentors to new members.

Missing Delegate, Quickly Passed Motion

A Netherlands branch delegate was missing and motion 72 fell. The motion aimed at investigating what would be required to create virtual branches to allow more active participation in cases where distance, particularly in foreign branches, makes regular meetings, impossible.

All rules and up-to-date procedures of legal grievances and appeals should be clearly available to members on the website. This is the summary of motion 73 which was put forward by Manchester and was passed by ADM. It is hoped to achieve closer scrutiny of Union legal issues.

Motion 74 stood to amend policy statement to enable members’ appeals to the NEC to be made in person in respect of legal assistance in specific circumstances. Despite opposition, the motion proposed by Manchester branch was carried.

Newspapers and Information Industrial Council sought permission to withdraw motion 75, which was granted.

Birmingham and Coventry branch told delegates motion 76 was self-explanatory and it was quickly passed.

Changing the name of the Northern Office to that of the Northern and Midland Office was also agreed by conference without any opposition.

Irish South Western opened the debate on Wages, Payments and Conditions with an initial motion, no 114, condemning employer’s attacks on workers across the industry.

Pointing out that “there is nobody in this room who has not been touched in some way by the economic crisis,” the delegate resolved to “not tolerate the bully-boy tactics” of employers who have “failed business practices have brought this industry to its knees.”

Anti-union practices attacking existing terms and conditions are to be opposed across the board. Manchester branch seconded the motion and called for companies to be “told they cannot exploit their workers anymore.”

The motion was successfully carried.

Transparency

London Magazine Branch called for ADM to organise further to resistance to job cuts, forced redundancies, and a general worsening in labour conditions.

An amendment was put forward by Sylvia Sharp of Book Branch to force employers to open up business accounts to public scrutiny. This was a requirement if the union were to “see the figures so we can make realistic demands.”

The amendment was successfully carried.

Sharing of knowledge

Sharp again spoke, this time for motion 117. ADM was thus called upon to resist outsourcing – a business practice often associated with the exploitation of cheap, un-unionised labour.

The union should be looking to organise foreign workers to resist such practices, she said. “We need to share our knowledge and strategies. Together we can win.”

Tony Gosling spoke against the motion, claiming that outsourcing is not always a bad phenomenon and can lead to employment for freelancers. Ms Sharp countered this by claiming that she had been misunderstood and that the motion was in favour of “supporting outsourcing as long as it is done responsibly.”

The motion was carried.

Unionised shares?

The delegate for Birmingham and Coventry moved motion 118, which instructed the NEC, on behalf of the union, to obtain enough shareholdings of all media plcs to allow the participation of activists in their future AGMs.

The example of Trinity Mirror AGM last May was used to show how the union, as a recognised shareholder, had been able to access senior board members and highlight members’ pressing concerns.

It was argued that this practice should be extended, with shares being controlled by National Officers. Union shares would therefore act as a means for putting pressure on management to negotiate.

The motion was seconded by the Welsh Executive Council and was passed without dissent.

Falling standards

Motion 120, moved by London Magazine branch, instructed the NEC to campaign against casaulisation and falling editorial standards by targeting an organisational and recruitment campaign in the magazine sector and demanding that media owners do not reduce staffing levels.

The motion noted that despite Emap recording profits of £110 million last year, staff cuts were deemed necessary to service the massive debts of its owners Apax and Guardian Media Group.

The motion was carried.

Students Exploited

Edinburgh Freelance Branch took the floor by pointing to the increased exploitation of student journalists during work experience in motion 122.

Student members are also being used to undercut existing staff, who were losing working hours to students being used as a cheaper alternative to full timers, it was reported.

The NEC must, it was argued, campaign “vigorously” against such practices that were alleged to be “tantamount to slavery.” ADM shows its approval by passing the motion.

Call for clarity

Motion 123 from Manchester instructed the NEC to take up the issue of employment clarity. “When you start a new job,” the delegate argued, “it’s not too much to ask to receive written information on what you are actually supposed to be doing.”

Under existing law employers can delay providing written particulars on employment and contracts for up to two months.

A legal challenge is therefore required so that union members can be clear on terms and conditions, as well as workplace safety measures.

The motion carried.

Archaic

Edinburgh Freelance pushed motion 124, which called on ADM to take action on the payment of tax by freelancers. “Archaic payment arrangements” were argued to be causing some members to pay National Insurance Contributions twice over, an arrangement widely considered to be unfair.

As expected the motion was carried with overwhelming support.

An essential part of journalism

“All journalists are facing attacks in the current climate,” argued the Dublin delegate, “and photographers are feeling it in a particular way.”

Speaking for motion 125, the delegate called on the union to continue efforts to defend photographers, claiming that: “photography is not an option add on; it is an essential part of journalism.”

NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear, seconded the motion on behalf of the NEC, stating that: “hundreds of photographers have become casualties of a practice that puts profits over quality.”

Motion 125 was successful.

Equal work for equal pay

The BBC World Service delegates said that current practices in the BBC have led to pay inequality.

Motion 126, which was carried, instructs the NEC to safeguard the principle of equal pay for equal work.

Staff should not have to suffer lower pay levels due to ethnic origin. ADM was called on to “send a clear message that this union is coming back to put things right.”

Strength through unity

NUJ is reputed to be in a position strength at the BBC. Although this has proven to be of benefit for staff journalists, freelancers are currently not recognised in collective bargaining.

Bristol branch moved motion 127 to provide a remedy for this by getting BBC freelancers to sign a petition in favour of collective bargaining. This was seconded by a delegate from the Netherlands Branch, who pointed out that many freelancers are not unionised and unaware of their rights.

Freelancers squeezed

Moved by Leeds, motion 128 highlighted the difficulties self-employed freelances encounter when being paid for contributions to course run by colleges and universities.

Further and higher institutions “seem unable to establish for paying such contributors gross… without delays of several months, follow-up correspondence and, in some instances, the threat of legal proceedings,” ADM noted.

The general secretary was instructed to write to lecturers unions to highlight the concerns and issue guidance to staff commissioning work from freelances and also to bodies in charge of education institutions to ask them to take action as soon as possible.

The Professional Training Committee will provide written guidance to all members working in further or higher education.

The motion carried.

Irish South West Branch moved motion 129 to mandate the NEC to raise awareness and understanding of copyright issues.

Delegates noted a “massive deterioration in work available and have come under pressure to perform the same work for reduced rates of pay.” A trend towards re-use of work submitted by freelance journalists and photographers without appropriate payment was also noted, as was pressure on freelance photographers to relinquish copyright.

The motion was successful.

The Law of the Land

With regards to journalists’ relationship with the police, motions 86 through to 92 were discussed. In 86 (covering also 87, 88, 89) the efforts, and subsequent legal victory of Sunday Tribune Northern editor Suzanne Breen were applauded and used as an example of why it is imperative for the NEC to “contact police forces in the UK and Ireland to emphasise to them the importance of the NUJ Code Of Conduct”.

With 90, the NEC was urged to continue its ongoing attempts to improve relations with the Police, while 91 focused on how relations were severely damaged by the heavy-handed treatment of journalists (especially photographers) by the police at the G20 demonstrations in London.

Motion 92 on the other hand, dealt with the flippant attitude in which the Police have adopted with the Police And Criminal Evidence Act (PACE Act) and other legislation, thanks to the recent glut of anti-terrorism laws. It proposes that the NEC produce a ‘legal guide’ in which NUJ members can refer to , so as that they know exactly how protected they and their work are, should they ever come under the scrutiny of a police investigation or arrest.

All four motions were passed without incident.

The Misrepresentation of Women in the Media

Another successfully carried motion was that of Bristol Branch, in which, based on the findings of the “Representations of Women in the Media” project, the NEC were urged to promote positive representations of women in the media, and to tackle and debunk the misrepresentations.

Disability and Permission to report

The reporting of stories involving people with disabilities was the focus of both motion 108 and 110. Motion 108 wanted every member to recognise that people with disabilities were a growing population, not only in the general population, but in the NUJ as well.

As a result, it wanted to raise awareness of the importance of sensitivity when writing, and courtesy when dealing with affected members at work. 110 was more interested in the terminology used when reporting on ‘hate crimes against disabled people’, and how words such as ‘vulnerable’ could actually be detrimental to the victims as it creates a weak stereotype that many people could and do find offensive and demeaning. Both motions were carried.

Motion 109 wanted to amend the NUJ Code of Conduct to include the principle that “journalists should seek the permission of a parent, guardian, or other appropriate adult when interviewing or photographing a child with regard to a story about their welfare”. This motion was also passed.

War on Error

The big debate of this section was Oxford and District Branch’s statement that a majority of the British media was guilty of bias reporting on the latest Gaza conflict, and that the NEC  should set up a forum to discuss the ethical rights and wrongs on the reporting of the conflict.

This received passionate backing on both sides of the debate, with members from BBC World Service defending the coverage, and other NUJ members condemning it. Despite BBC World Service’s protestations, the motion was passed (with the branch’s own amendment).

Remission Possible

Not all motions were as successful as most, with motions:

• 93 (campaign to reform the PCC)
• 111 (reinstatement of former clause 8of the original Code Of Conduct)
• 113 (bridging the gap between the journalistic principles of the NUJ, and the new medias of blogging and twittering)

all remitted for the NEC to make a decision.

The motion was put forward by the Equality Council suggesting that the NUJ must address the gender imbalance between male and female representation on elected councils.

With a 40% female membership it is deemed embarrassing that only 2.5 seats on elected councils are occupied by women.

As previously reported on this site, Bristol branch put forward the successful amendment to stop quotas being introduced for gender-balanced nominations. However, were some arguments not verging on rather silly?

For example, “What if there is only one position open in my branch, do I give it to the woman or the man?” Well, if the woman has been nominated that is sufficient. What seems to have been lost is that the motion complete with quota proposal only wanted more female nominees. It was not calling for direct elections of women members.

Looking Forward

Although the Equality Council wanted to withdraw the motion completely after the amendment saying they would be back next year, it must be remembered the motion still contains action and it did not fail. The NEC must put into practice the mentoring and support of women members in chapels and branches as well as recognising the difficulties women still face. Not everything has been lost.

As a student member and first time ADM attendee, I do not feel ready or fully informed to give a complete opinion on this outcome. However, I would like to think in the future that should I become an elected member of an NUJ council, I will have been elected as a brain who happens to have breasts and not as breasts with a brain.

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