Informed 07 Read More


www.nuj.org.uk/ news/tuc- disabled-workers- conference-2017/


☞ Mental health and fake news issues for TUC


Mental health was one of the major topics tackled at this year’s Disabled Workers’ Conference at the TUC, with a new survey showing that only a quarter of people with a mental illness or phobia, lasting for 12 months or more, are in work. Delegates heard the moving


testimony of Jason Brown, the former Gillingham and Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper, who described how he suffered from depression, developed an eating disorder, started to drink heavily and contemplated suicide. NUJ delegate, Ann Galpin, welcomed


the focus on mental health and said: “Te policy of austerity has had a huge


impact on disabled workers and the increase of zero-hours contracts has led to increased stress and greater job insecurity.”


Te NUJ’s motion, proposed by Mik Scarlet, called for the TUC to campaign to improve policies and support for disabled people seeking employment. It pointed out that many disabled people working in the creative industries and journalism were oſten freelances, not always out of choice, as a way to manage work around their impairment. Te NUJ was also represented at the TUC’s LGBT+ conference. Tis year marks the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which


partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales, and conference delegates were told that, while there have been huge changes in rights for the community, many face discrimination and harassment at work. A TUC report showed that nearly two


in five (39 per cent) of all respondents had been harassed or discriminated against by a colleague, a quarter (29 per cent) by a manager and around one in seven (14 per cent) by a client or patient.


Te NUJ’s motion noted the


emergence of “fake news” which posed a potential danger for repressing LGBT+ people, individually and collectively.


Diane Abbot named as keynote speaker


Diane Abbot, the shadow home secretary, is the keynote speaker for this year’s Claudia Jones lecture on Tursday 26 October. She made history 30 years ago


by becoming the first black woman elected to the British Parliament and has since built a distinguished career as a parliamentarian, broadcaster and commentator. Each October during Black History Month, the NUJ’s Black Members’ Council organises a lecture in honour of Claudia Jones, the black journalist, feminist, political activist and community leader who has been described as the mother of the Noting Hill carnival. In May, BAME journalists and journalism were celebrated by Guardian editor-at-large, Gary Younge, and BBC presenter, Ayshah Tull, who presented certificates at a ceremony in the NUJ’s headquarters to 2016’s George Viner


scholars, Soila Apparicio, Joshua Surtees and Nasim Asl. Ben Hunte, the fourth scholar, was too busy working to atend. Te George Viner Memorial Fund is the union’s charity which provides bursaries to black and Asian students. Gary said: “When you succeed, be in no doubt it is because of how good you are.” Ayshah said: “Be nice to people on the way up, because the media is a tiny village and you will meet everyone again.”


Mark Tomas


Hosting the event, Tim Dawson, NUJ president, paid tribute to Lionel Morrison, the former NUJ president, who died last October aſter many years chairing the board of GVMF trustees. • Te NUJ has strongly challenged


Ofcom’s decision to ignore any requirement to improve off-screen diversity as part of its new remit as the BBC’s regulator. Te union said off- screen diversity was as important as on-screen diversity, which Ofcom will monitor, and that there was a direct relation between the two. Tis argument won support from actor Sir Lenny Henry who accused Ofcom of accused the broadcasting regulator of promoting a culture of “fake diversity”. Te list of the BBC’s top earners


showed that only 10 of the 96 listed were from black or minority ethnic backgrounds.


George Viner scholars


Te union has also boycoted Project Diamond, the broadcasting industry’s diversity monitoring initiative, because the scheme has so far refused to publish equality monitoring data for individual programmes or series.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12