Informed 09 Update
NUJ wins £1.2m compensation for members
Te NUJ has won more than £1.2m for members this year in compensation on claims ranging from discrimination to unfair dismissal and includes more than £872,000 in equal pay cases. At Newsquest Scotland the union
brought an equal pay case on behalf of a member who discovered she was being paid significantly less than a man while dealing with exactly the same workload. The Scottish office filed for an employment tribunal claim at the same time as lodging a grievance complaint and her employer quickly agreed to a generous pre-litigation settlement without admission of liability. The union negotiated a sum of £18,500 for one member following an unfair dismissal case. Another has the union to thank
for recovering almost £4,000 from Associated News for unauthorised use of their articles.
The NUJ’s freelance office continues to pursue companies which do not pay up and publications using pictures without permission. The Daily Mail agreed to take down an image used without consent and paid a photographer member £100 in compensation. The union also managed to recoup £576 for a member in unpaid copyright fees.
Two members of a publishing house both received redundancy payments of more than £100, 000. A disabled member who was not getting the support they were entitled to from their employer won £5,000 following intervention by the NUJ.
The union offers a comprehensive
range of legal services to its members – not just on workplace issues. It has an in-house legal department that works alongside Thompsons Solicitors which recently dealt with a member who had been involved in a road accident, saying: “A payment for £5,000 has been sent to your member. Cases such as this show the value of the union’s legal service. It also shows that the union is prepared to take cases that claim companies and no win/no fee solicitors will not.” NUJ legal services:
https://www.nuj.org.uk/advice/legal- assistance.html
Climate reporting Te media is a long way from providing adequate coverage of the severity of the climate crisis, while journalists need more training to improve their reporting, an International Federation of Journalists global survey reveals. It showed 81 per cent were “very concerned” about climate change. However, only one in four believe the media is doing an adequate job of covering the crisis with more than half saying their own news organisation do not dedicate special coverage to climate change.
Menopause webinar Te menopause is a natural part of every woman’s life so why is it still a taboo subject in the workplace? Te NUJ held an
informative online workshop with Dr Clare Spencer and Helen Normoyle, the co- founders of My Menopause Centre, to demystify the menopause and discuss ways NUJ reps and members can improve the experience of women going through the menopause while at work. You can watch it here:
www.youtube.com/ watch?v=v1ZLmhJIAT4
Wilson case celebrated A collection of essays has been published to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Wilson and Palmer case which established the right to be represented by a trade union. NUJ member Dave Wilson was employed by Associated Newspapers at the Daily Mail. Te editor wrote to staff derecognising the NUJ and offering a 4.5 per cent pay rise to all staff who signed new contracts giving up the right to have terms and conditions set by collective bargaining. Dave Wilson refused to sign. He
was denied the pay increase. Tis led to an 11-year legal case to assert his rights as a trade union member. (Palmer was a member of the RMT at the Associated British Ports where staff were ‘offered’ personal contracts.) It was one of the most important labour law cases of its generation which held that, by permiting employers to discriminate against trade unionists, British law violated the European Convention on Human Rights. htps://
www.tuc.org.uk/
research-analysis/reports/ building-worker-power
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