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World of work needs specialist reporters


It’s high time we saw a major revival of specialist correspondents following the world of work. A whole raft of industrial disputes are occurring and trade union membership is on the up. I believe these need careful, dogged reporting and analysis by specialists. Industrial correspondents had their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s when unions were strong and major industrial disputes were more common. But, as heavy industry shut down and union membership declined, so too did the body of specialists who reported on the struggle between labour and capital. That struggle became less intense but never went away. New


winds are blowing and unions are asserting themselves. Barely a week goes by when Unite is not chalking up another ‘inflation- busting pay rise’. Teachers in the NEU will be balloting for industrial action in the autumn, the CWU are balloting as I write and barristers have just gone on strike. Nautilus International is still after P&O Ferries for sacking 800


seafarers with no notice by video and the RMT is in a high- profile dispute in defence of jobs and working conditions and in pursuit of a pay rise. No doubt many more disputes will erupt. So there’s plenty to report. Lots of movers and shakers, issues


and grievances, wins and defeats, changes to legislation, labour analysis. The Washington Post has just appointed a labour reporter and Novara Media is recruiting a labour movement correspondent. A growing trend? In the brave new world of global giants such


as Amazon, Apple and DHL, and gig workers, I think there is room for a new breed of transnational labour correspondents – even in teams – to cover their affairs and thinking and how (organised) labour is responding. Andrew Draper Cardiff & SE Wales branch


Union invaluable in legal battle to protect sources As you will know, I was taken to court by the West Midlands Police, who applied for an order under the Terrorism Act 2000 in an attempt to force me to reveal the names of people I interviewed in my investigation into the Birmingham pub bombings more than 30 years ago. In response, I argued that protection of sources was a cardinal principal of ethical journalism


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and that my actions had been overwhelmingly in the public interest. The application was heard at the Old


Bailey and on March 22 the recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft, declined to grant the police application on the grounds that it was not in the public interest to do so. Hopefully, this case will serve as


precedent that will protect other journalists in a similar situation. Although I would not under any


circumstances have disclosed confidential sources, I would have had difficulty in defending the action without the support of the NUJ, which paid my legal costs. I would like to thank Michelle


Stanistreet and her colleagues for their unswerving support and to say to anyone in doubt about the value of trade union membership that you never know when you will need it. Chris Mullin www.chrismullinexmp.com


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Email to: journalist@nuj.org.uk Post to: The Journalist 72 Acton Street, London WC1X 9NB Tweet to: @mschrisbuckley


Our old terms for union reps are off-putting … Traditions can be a wonderful thing but I’m with Rob Osborne in thinking it’s time for our union to ditch the mother and father of chapel titles in favour of something more easily understood (Outdated terms or treasured tradition?, June/July). For several years now, I’ve referred to


myself simply as a chapel rep and group chapel rep as I too found the traditional titles were confusing to new members and those yet to sign up. I decided that it was better to waste


less time on deciphering cryptic titles for prospective members and more time talking about how the NUJ makes a difference in our newsroom. Retaining the word chapel for our


workplace groupings is an easy way to honour the tradition and differentiate them from branches, but let’s not insist on keeping the mother and father titles that feel so old-fashioned and make our union seem inaccessible. George Morris National World group chapel rep


… but it’s more pressing to have reps in the first place Natasha Hirst raises some interesting points in her discussion of NUJ terminology (Outdated terms or treasured tradition?, June/July). I think whatever we call chapel


officers is of far less importance than the fact that we have some, ideally in every workplace. So maybe individual chapels should be free to choose what they call workplace reps. Speaking of which, what’s wrong with ‘workplace rep’? Tony Harcup (an ex-father of chapel) Leeds and West Yorkshire branch


Nothing sweet about data-grabbing cookies The internet has changed our lives, but it is virtually impossible to view a site without a box blocking the screen to


DENIS CARRIER


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