Informed 07 Round-up Disabled Workers’ Conference


Delegates stressed the need for stronger workplace protections and beter access to the creative industries during the TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference on 19-20 May.


Te NUJ delegation in Bournemouth


was Johny Cassidy, Lynn Degele and Gemma-Louise Stevenson. Cassidy moved the union’s motion on addressing systemic barriers and career obstacles facing young disabled workers in journalism. “If we want the stories of disabled people to be told authentically and truthfully, we need to have those people in our newsrooms, and not only at entry levels,” said Cassidy, stressing the need to end the culture of working without pay that excludes many – particularly disabled workers – from entering the industry. “We need editorial decision makers


to understand through their own lived experience and challenge the negative rhetoric that has become all too pervasive across society,” Cassidy continued. “It’s time we reclaimed the narrative and told our own stories.” Te motion passed unanimously. Earlier in the conference sports journalist Gemma-Louise Stevenson similarly stressed the need for inclusion and access while speaking in support of a composite motion on equity in the creative industries. “It’s a batle – one of having to constantly fight for equal access to opportunities”, said Stevenson, referring to the additional labour of researching access provisions and navigating Access to Work provisions before accepting a contract. In contrast to the exclusion she faced in the world of theatre, Stevenson was warmly welcomed into sports journalism. Yet she noted that “as one of the first wheelchair users working in women’s football reporting, my decision- making on whether a match should be covered is still influenced more by how accessible the stadium is than the actual


Te Scotish Trades Union Congress (STUC) unanimously passed the NUJ’s motion calling for the Scotish government to protect local journalism amid widespread cuts. “Over the past two and a half decades,


stories within the game.” Steveson said: “And that is why this motion is so important [...] because when disabled people can be ‘astonishing’ and create, produce and perform theatre and art, we can change atitudes and create lasting change.”


Reasonable adjustments are essential


to improving access to employment opportunities. As Lynn Degele stressed, “reasonable adjustments can be the difference between someone remaining in work and being managed out of employment.” Degele argued that the onus must be on employers to fulfil their responsibilities, urging the trade union movement to continue raising awareness of the right to reasonable adjustments and push for faster implementation. Elsewhere the NUJ delegation criticised the closure of the Access To Work email contact system, and seconded an emergency motion by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers calling for the TUC to protect disabled workers’ access to mobility following reports of disabled drivers being incorrectly removed from the Drive Smart scheme. Conference also paid tribute to Ann Galpin, NUJ Disabled Members’ Council co-chair, who stepped down as the union’s representative on the TUC Disabled Workers’ Commitee aſter 16 years.


the lifeblood of our fourth estate, local news, has been aggressively and recklessly slashed by profit-seeking corporations,” said Conrad Landin, NUJ delegate. “Tey cut staffing levels to the bone, close down local papers, pay huge dividends to shareholders – and then plead poverty and keep their reporters on poverty pay.” Noting redundancies at Reach titles in Scotland, the refusal of Iconic Media (owner of Te Scotsman and other titles) to engage with trade unions, and cuts to jobs and local programming at STV, Landin called on politicians to “protect democracy and the ability of independent journalism to hold power to account.” Te motion referred to ongoing disputes at STV, where NUJ and Bectu members voted for strike action over the company’s 0% pay offer in one of the first ballots held under the Employment Rights Act. Seconding the motion, Bectu’s Suvi Wallendahr said: “We live in the age of AI and deepfakes. It’s becoming harder and harder to tell what is real. Local journalism is real. It is done by people: they plan it, they report it, they record it, they edit it, they broadcast it. And while doing it, they are held to standards. Tis is not something that can be cut or replaced. In this, Bectu and NUJ members stand together. Both have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.”


NUJ


STUC Congress 2026


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