news NUJ pushes for free expression at STUC


TRADE UNIONISTS must put ‘huge pressure’ on the UK and Scottish governments to strengthen free expression protections and corporate liability, NUJ delegates have told the Scottish TUC Congress (STUC), Conrad Landin writes. At the confederation’s annual event in Dundee over April 28-30, unions unanimously backed an NUJ motion raising awareness of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). NUJ delegation leader Simon Barrow of Edinburgh freelance


branch moved a motion that said they “do what they say on the can – they are an attempt by those who are rich and powerful to silence people who might criticise them and hold them to account”. He highlighted the case of former MSP Andy Wightman, who successfully saw off a defamation lawsuit only for the company that sued him to enter liquidation. Barrow said that a 2023 law change at Westminster “has


strengthened corporate criminal liability and access to information” but it was “not nearly enough”. He said the Scottish Government did not grasp the severity of the issue either. The NUJ motion commits the STUC to “help forge a cross-party coalition” to push for legislative change at Holyrood. Supporting a resolution on artificial intelligence (AI) from the


Scottish Artists Union, Barrow also argued that Scotland’s trade union movement must “take the lead” and propose “practical steps” to safeguard workers from unscrupulous tech giants. He urged affiliates to join the fight for legal redress for copyright holders whose work had been stolen to feed into generative AI models, and for AI clauses in house agreements. Layla-Roxanne Hill of Glasgow branch spoke in the debate on assisted dying, giving an update on the call for a reporting code


NUJ “ Simon Barrow, Andy Curry, Conrad Landin and Layla-Roxanne Hill


of conduct adopted by the the NUJ’s delegate meeting a few days before. “We’re concerned the nuanced views of disabled people and disability groups are overlooked in reporting and in policy matters which have a direct impact on their lives,” she said. Delegates backed another NUJ motion, put forward by


Edinburgh and district branch, on the abuse of attendance policies by employers. It called on the STUC to “develop a model sickness and absence management agreement”. This followed a recent case of a newspaper group that


instituted automatic proceedings if an employee was absent for just four days on separate occasions over a year. The NUJ also secured backing for the development of “a media literacy strategy for Scotland”.


Worker co-operative paper remembered


VETERANS of Britain’s first worker-controlled mass circulation daily newspaper gathered in Glasgow in May to mark its 50th anniversary. The Scottish Daily News


was launched in 1975, a year after Express Newspapers closed its Scottish operation. The co-operative folded after six months. The NUJ’s Glasgow branch hosted a screening of


Norman Pollock’s 1976 film about the paper. Ron McKay, who co-wrote a book about the saga, argued the paper had failed because of its lack of quality and the involvement of Robert Maxwell. He said Maxwell “took executive powers” which “just threw the whole thing into conflict”. George Welsh, who was


father of chapel, had worked


for the Scottish Express and spent a year on the editorial planning committee before the paper was launched. He disputed the extent of


Maxwell’s influence and said “very careful thought” had gone into the paper. “We were trying to get the Express readership,” he explained. “The atmosphere was very carefully created by the


editorial committee and the action committee.” Dorothy-Grace Elder edited the paper for six months after its official closure, leading unpaid workers who sold “emergency editions” shaking cans for donations. “I don’t think it’s fair to criticise editorial,” she said. “We didn’t have enough folk on editorial for


a start Those of us who were there worked our butts off.” Regarding Maxwell’s support, she said: “If you are drowning in an ocean and the only ship that appears is flying a pirate flag, what do you do? Do you just say: ‘Oh, I’m just going to drown?’”


Call to restore media access to Gaza “Since we submitted this amendment, it has


THE SCOTTISH TUC (STUC) has joined calls for international journalists to regain access to the Gaza Strip. At the STUC’s annual congress in Dundee,


the NUJ amended a motion on the war in Palestine to acknowledge the deaths of journalists and call for a restoration of access to the Gaza Strip for international media.


04 | theJournalist


become out of date,” NUJ delegate Conrad Landin of Glasgow branch said. “At least 171 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7 2023, including Israeli and Lebanese journalists – but overwhelmingly Palestinian. That’s 10 per cent of journalists in Gaza dead – the highest proportion of any profession.”


Simon Barrow Edinburgh freelance branch


SLAPPS are used by the rich and powerful to silence people who might criticise them and hold them to account


LAURA KALLFELZ / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28