Informed 03


In the UK the implementation of the Employment Rights Act continues to strengthen workplace protections and trade union presence – see our Legal Assistant Nanya Joseph’s explainer on page 4. Simplified recognition processes will be particularly useful when considering our approach to employers like Iconic Media where voluntary agreements are not being respected. The NUJ has submitted a further pay claim to Iconic’s CEO Malcolm Denmark, urging a return to negotiations along with a proportionate pay package. Sadly Nanya will be leaving the NUJ, along with our Digital Organiser Mostafa Rajai and long-serving Membership colleague Paul Goldstaub. I am hugely grateful to Nanya, Mostafa and Paul for their many years of collective service to our union. Finally, I’d like to thank the families of


Barry Fitzpatrick, former deputy general secretary, and David Gow, serving NEC member, whose memorials I attended in London and Edinburgh respectively along with NUJ branch and staff colleagues.


Strikes at STV and BBC


Our broadcasting sector has been particularly active industrially in recent months. On his first official day at the BBC, Britin was greeted by an NUJ picket as members working at Newshour and Te World Tonight took strike action over proposed changes to rotas that would have resulted in 26 extra office days without additional pay. Tanks to the hard work of reps, members’ collective action, and some strong media coverage, the dispute was resolved just four days later with agreement on a compromise proposal. Te revised rotas will see some shiſts reduced in length with 13 additional office shiſts; there will also be no changes to working paterns at Te World Tonight. As our Broadcasting Organiser John Sailing said, it is only because of our members’ resilience and solidarity that we have been able to resolve this difficult dispute. Meanwhile over 100 NUJ and Bectu members at STV went on strike on 8 May over the company’s refusal to move


on its 0% pay offer. Tis led to coverage of the Scotish election results being cancelled and replaced by an episode of Te Chase, demonstrating once again that STV cannot produce daily news coverage without its journalists. Our Scotland Organiser Nick McGowan- Lowe said: “Our members would much rather be reporting the election results than standing on picket lines, but they have been driven to this action by management’s indifference as to how overworked and underpaid they are.” As one of the first ballots held under the new Employment Rights Act, our mandate to hold further action, if necessary, lasts until April 2027.


Te union also slammed Ofcom aſter


the regulator gave approval for STV to implement damaging cuts to jobs and local programming. Tough compulsory redundancies have been avoided due to pressure from NUJ officials and reps, the union has writen to STV’s CEO Rufus Radcliffe to express serious concern over the impact of a series of leadership failures on staff wellbeing.


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