freelance


gether


Of the thousands who leave journalism college every year, many will move straight into freelancing. To gain experience, they may even work for nothing. Blaming the newcomers, who are the future of the


industry, is not the answer. They need protection. The union has successfully supported interns in unpaid national minimum wage claims. New entrants to the industry also need encouragement to take union values on board . It would be helpful if university lecturers were to spread the message that working for nothing is self-destructive. Advancement should not be based upon one’s ability to withstand starvation wages. Chapels are supposed to be democratic, and newsrooms meritocratic. While some people join the NUJ to participate in the wider trade union movement, others join it in its role as a professional association. They embrace the political, while rejecting party politics. The conflation of the two might lead to confusion over objectives at times, but both approaches focus on the strength of the collective.


Workers at the Ritzy cinema in Brixton found themselves the beneficiaries of customer loyalty last autumn, when Picturehouse management were forced to back down on plans to cut staff. The threatened lay-off


was seen as retaliation when staff demanded the London Living Wage – a heady £8.80 per hour. When strike action followed, Picturehouse said that up to 20 jobs might be cut.


Solidarity on screen and stage Support came not only


from BECTU, the cinema workers’ union, but also from cinemagoers. Will Self announced his boycott by pointing out that Picturehouse cinemas are owned by Cineworld, Europe’s largest cinema chain. When similar pressure


led rival chain Curzon to pay their London staff the London Living Wage, Cineworld called off the cuts. Strike action at London’s Globe theatre in May


took on a thespian tone when tour guides – also backed by BECTU – picketed the recreation of Shakespeare’s original theatre over rejected claims for £13.50 an hour. Some dressed up in Elizabethan costume, waving placards: “Much Ado About Not Much More” and “The Pay’s The Thing.” Those who showed up


for tours were offered discounted audio guides. Unsurprisingly, many wanted real people.


Many people join the union to get the press card, for which


the NUJ is a gatekeeper, and free legal support. These are vital services, however, not marketing incentives. Can individualist solutions solve a collectivist problem? The CWU communications union has about 20,000 members aged under 30, with their own youth executive. Young GMB activists organise primarily by region, and have taken an active role in Generation Rent, the movement that seeks a better deal for private sector tenants. In March, 46 per cent of new members of the NUJ were freelance. This means new challenges and new opportunities. How can we best support our future? Initiatives such as the New Ways to Make Journalism


Pay conferences have focused on the positive aspects of changing business practices. Freelance Salon, a series of networking events, is due to take off this year in various parts of the country. We can operate as viable businesses and still promote each


other. The master masons of the Middle Ages were paid per day and able to move around from site to site. Yet they were brilliant organisers and knew the meaning of solidarity. We do not operate now within a closed shop environment,


but we can determine our own working ethos. If we are craftsmen, we have dignity. If we see ourselves as businesses, we have agency. If we see ourselves as belonging to a confederation of businesses, we have solidarity. We can determine our own working conditions; what we will accept and what we will not accept. The freelance dilemma is not that all decisions are made by others. The dilemma is that we have so many decisions to make for ourselves.


Fiona O’Cleirigh chairs the London Freelance Branch theJournalist | 13


HARDIE/ALAMY


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