06 Informed


DM motions round-up


DM was back in person this year in London. It was a busy agenda featuring 108 motions and 7 composites.


Subscriptions


Conference agreed a subscription increase of around five per cent in July and the same increase next year. Te national executive council’s motion highlighted that NUJ subscription rates had remained static for seven years, while prices have increased by 13.4 per cent in the same period. Chris Frost speaking on behalf of the NEC, said that while it might seem ‘unpalatable’, the union needed to increase subs to fulfil its functions. He acknowledged that members were facing difficult times and that was why the rise in subs would be substantially below the inflation rate. Conference also passed a motion instructing the NEC to amend the rules to allow applicants under the age of 25 joining for the first time; asylum seeker members switching to refugee member status and temporary members to pay a membership fee of one third of


the grade one rate for their first year of membership. A special conference will be held in the autumn to discuss accommodating journalists on low pay. Te subs’ rise required a two-thirds majority, but DM voted to change this to a simple majority from next DM. Table of increases and debate.


Mothers and Fathers of Chapel


Delegates voted narrowly to abolish the titles Mother of Chapel and Father of Chapel from the union’s rule book. Behrang Tajdin, of the Equality Council, said it would be “a small step towards making the NUJ even more inclusive”. Séamus Dooley, assistant general


secretary, argued titles with a century’s history should not be discarded. If people preferred to be called a rep or chapel chair, that was already possible.


Artificial intelligence


NEC member, Tim Dawson, opened a debate on AI saying the potential implications for the NUJ were enormous in terms of copyright, the ethical production of images, the propagation of misinformation and replacement of visual creatives. DM supported the need for regulation at national and international levels, including support for an EU directive on algorithmic systems at work. Te NUJ will continue to work with the TUC’s AI working group and educate members on the dangers of AI. DM instructed the NEC to campaign on the risks and challenges of AI, demand employers do not use AI in staff surveillance, monitoring, work allocation or appraisal without explicit collective agreement and transparency.


All DM2023 pictures are © Jess Hurd. For a fuller account of conference debates go to the NUJ website.


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