We’re all in this to T


Fiona O’Cleirigh on the challenges of encouraging a collective ethos in freelances


he union is only as strong as its weakest members – and they are likely to be freelances. So says the BBC World News NUJ chapel, which argues for better deals for casuals as part of ongoing negotiations.


Having to cut newsroom production by a fifth has led the


channel to use short term contracts and zero hours or flexi contracts, where people are guaranteed just a few shifts a month but may work as many as twenty. Moves to cut shifts or push people onto contracts near the bottom of the pay scale could mean losses of up to £8000 for some regular freelances. “As a chapel we won’t agree a comprehensive deal that doesn’t include progress for them,” says David Campanale, the chapel’s former FOC. Of around 125 people working in BBC World News, around 98 are in the chapel. You should see the whole newsroom as your potential flock, he adds. “Once converted, they become true believers.” Away from a protective chapel, many freelances live their professional lives in a state of fear. As rates are cut – and sometimes obliterated – the choice can seem stark. Anticipate the cuts and limbo ever lower, or face bankruptcy. How people respond to harsh choices posed by commissioning publishers affects everyone. If other journalists undercut, or even work for nothing, it may be harder for those who demand union rates to get them. Freelances cannot organise in the same way as staff


journalists. They cannot go on strike. Competition law prevents them from coming together to fix rates of remuneration.


There is nothing to prevent them from coming together as a collective to face changing industrial conditions, however. Lawyers do it very effectively and the Law Society is made up of self-employed people. When crabs are stored in a bucket, they do not help each other out, but will pull back any escapees. When journalists face boiling water, a change of consciousness will not lower the temperature, but a change of collective consciousness might ensure that no-one has to perish. Those who wrote the original 1936 NUJ Code of Conduct


knew this. Of its 13 clauses, three were designed to protect freelances. Moonlighting – staffers taking shifts on other publications – was particularly frowned upon.


12 | theJournalist At the beginning of a branch meeting, new members’


names are read out. This is for historic reasons, and it is designed to allow for objections. Members do not simply sign up to the union; they are accepted into a branch. If someone who crossed picket lines 20 years ago attempts to join, members with long memories may keep them out. What of a person who accepts £80 for a 1500-word feature?


What effect does that low rate have on others trying to earn a freelance living? Are they really just scabs, crossing the invisible picket line of union rates? Is a cynical commissioning editor simply reflecting a freelance’s own sense of self-worth? Or do bad payers just pay badly to everyone? Effective negotiation is the key. “Always ask for more,” say


Humphrey Evans, Phil Sutcliffe and Louise Bolotin, the team behind the union’s Pitch and Deal training course on how to get work commissioned. “It is not unknown to get 100 per cent increases on the first


offer,” says Phil. This approach can also work for rate increases with frequent employers. Look for companies that pay well – and that are doing well themselves. Getting the deal nailed down is freelance organiser John


Toner’s key advice. “When you enter into an agreement with a client, make sure it is in writing.” The freelance office at Headland House gives members


advice on fees and employment rights and offers specialist knowledge on copyright and contracts. While it cannot set its members rates, London Freelance Branch publishes an online rate for the job. Members can submit, for comparative purposes, the rate they were paid by a particular publication for a piece of work. Other freelances preparing to negotiate with editors can then decide which outfits to approach and which to avoid. The union publishes a comprehensive schedule of suggested minimum rates of remuneration in the freelance fees guide and the guide to digital photography fees. Not everyone feels comfortable charging the union rates.


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