news


Nine per cent pay rise won by Al Jazeera staff


Journalists and technical staff at Al Jazeera English have accepted a nine per cent pay deal staged over two years. The deal followed talks at conciliation


service Acas and threatened industrial action by the NUJ and Bectu. Anger had grown among staff at the London offices of the Doha-based broadcaster after they had gone four years without a pay rise. The rise begins with a consolidated pay


increase of six per cent, backdated to 1 January this year and an increase of three per cent from 1 January 2019. NUJ members voted by 84 per cent to accept


the offer and Bectu members by 92 per cent. The Al Jazeera NUJ chapel said: “This deal shows what can be done when employees get organised. “Four years after we won union recognition,


NUJ and Bectu members standing together have finally convinced management at Al Jazeera English that we will not continue to allow a pay freeze to erode our standard of living. “The hardworking staff at Al Jazeera English


thoroughly deserve this rise, which was secured by their solidarity and the support of the unions.”


The unions said they hoped that Al Jazeera


would now take collective bargaining and its relationship with them seriously. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, added: “This is an important shift in relations with Al Jazeera and one we hope means that the collective bargaining process will run more smoothly in future. “Members have voted overwhelmingly to


accept the pay deal on offer, and we are pleased to have resolved the dispute.” Gerry Carr, Bectu assistant national secretary,


said the offer marked a historic breakthrough. He said that Al Jazeera’s resistance to pay bargaining was ’shattered’ when both unions had strongly backed industrial action.


Delegates to the TUC’s black workers’ conference unanimously backed a motion from the NUJ and Equity criticising the Project Diamond broadcasting diversity scheme. This also called on the TUC to collect meaningful data on the employment of black workers in broadcasting.


NUJ motion targets Project Diamond The NUJ has been working with


Equity, Bectu, the Writers’ Guild and industry representatives to improve the scheme.


The unions, which are boycotting


Project Diamond, have lobbied for data collection to be conducted by programme and not genre to capture a


“


The UK’s only exclusively trade union podcast has landed a second series. Unions21’s first eight episodes feature Becky Wright and Simon Sapper and guests including Frances O’Grady, Kevin Maguire and Matthew Taylor, with a news round-up in each bi-weekly programme. Simon said: “It’s great to get the financial backing from supporters like Pellacraft and the University of Glasgow to enable us to carry on and fill a gap in the podcasting market. And it was Matt Hall’s NUJ class that got me started.”


This is an important shift in relations with Al Jazeera and one we hope means that the collective bargaining process will run more smoothly in future


Michelle Stanistreet NUJ general secretary


inbrief...


GARDNER LEAVES THE GUARDIAN Theatre critic and features writer Lyn Gardner has left the Guardian after 23 years, following the paper’s decision not to renew her contract. Gardner, who is also an associate editor of theatre news and features website The Stage, said she was sad to leave.


LOOK CLOSES AS HABITS CHANGE Women’s magazine Look has been closed as its publisher Time Inc UK blamed falling sales because of changing reader habits. Time Inc UK said it would now put greater emphasis on its main women’s title, Marie Claire, following Look’s closure.


GQ ONLINE EDITOR GOES TO LUCHFORD Conrad Quilty-Harper has left his role as online editor of GQ to work for an upmarket communications agency. He had been with GQ for three years. He now works for Luchford APM which runs PR campaigns for luxury brands in the travel, property and lifestyle sectors.


snapshot of the recruitment, promotion and the retention of black workers in broadcasting. Delegates Marc Wadsworth and Simon Hinds argued that a more accurate, comprehensive picture of diversity, both in front of the camera and behind it, was needed.


Second series for Unions21 podcast Becky added: “The huge increase in podcast


listenership makes this a great way to share best practice across the labour movement.” The podcast is available from iTunes and the Unions21 website. Suggestions for episodes are welcome at info@unions21.org.uk. Michelle Stanistreet will feature in a forthcoming episode.


NEW DEVON PAPER FOR LONGER READS A former regional newspaper editor has launched a community title in Honiton, Devon. Tim Dixon, former editor of the Western Gazette and Western Daily Press, told Press Gazette that there was room for ‘local and longer’ reads in print that would not work online. His new title is the Paper for Honiton, a print-only weekly newspaper.


SEARLE MADE EDITOR OF REALHOMES.COM Future Publishing has appointed Lucy Searle as its first editor-in- chief for website Realhomes.com, which includes Period Living online. She joins from Tailored Content, the content and social media marketing company she founded with Sarah Warwick, former executive editor of Ideal Home. Searle was previously associate editor of Ideal Home.


theJournalist | 07


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28