news Recognition victory at Bullivant Media


JOURNALISTS at Midlands free weekly newspapers company Bullivant Media Group have successfully concluded an agreement for recognition of the NUJ. The deal was finalised following a six-month campaign through


the statutory trade union recognition process, which culminated in a legal ruling that the union must be recognised for collective bargaining on pay, hours and holidays. The ruling was made formally in April by the Central Arbitration


Committee, the official body that decides on applications for non-voluntary trade union recognition claims. The finalised recognition agreement was signed in August following months of negotiations involving the conciliation service ACAS. All staff journalists employed by Redditch-based Bullivant Media


Group, which has 15 Observer and Standard newspaper titles and associated news websites serving towns and cities in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands, are now covered by the agreement and will have their core terms determined by annual collective bargaining. Chris Morley, NUJ Northern and Midlands senior organiser,


said: “We are glad to have come to an agreement establishing a role for the NUJ in supporting our members through a proper collective bargaining process in the coming years. “Members were very patient in what was something of a


protracted statutory process. But they were clear what they wanted and stuck with the union throughout. We are now looking forward to sitting down properly with senior managers to discuss the reasonable aspirations of members.


Bullivant Media Group NUJ reps Ash Osborne and Sonny Rackham with the signed recognition agreement


“This shows that it is possible for even a small chapel to


navigate the complicated statutory trade union recognition law to achieve what members are seeking. We are now looking forward to developing a mature, productive and constructive relationship with the company.” Ash Osborne, Bullivant Media Group NUJ chapel rep, said: “Both myself and members are pleased to have come to this agreement and establishing a place for the NUJ. I’m pleased that we stuck together as a department and throughout this entire process. We’re looking forward to the discussion to come.”


More lifers for Nottingham


THREE members of the NUJ’s Nottingham branch have been made life members. John Holmes, Jane Dodge and Steve Rogerson have a collective membership of the union of more than 125 years. At a celebratory event at The Victoria in Beeston


attended by members from Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, they were congratulated for their commitment to journalism and the union. Ben Cooper, chair of the Nottingham branch, said: “The branch is lucky to have many life members and we


were very pleased to welcome three more members to this distinguished group during 2025.”


Holmes began his career


in 1969 at Broadcasting House. He then moved to the BBC in Nottingham, followed by working at Pebble Mill in Birmingham


NUJ joins tribute to seamen’s protest


A FORGOTTEN tragedy, pivotal in the development of trade unionism, was commemorated on the banks of the River Wear, with members of Sunderland, Shields and Hartlepool NUJ branch taking part. Two hundred years ago


in 1825, seven people were shot dead when soldiers opened fire on striking seamen in Sunderland.


04 | theJournalist


on Midlands Today before going on to work for BBC Radio 4 in Bristol. He later returned to the East Midlands, working in Derby and Nottingham for the BBC. Dodge started her career in


BBC local radio before moving to Belfast to work in television at BBC Northern Ireland, then to BBC Westminster. For


The protest against poor


conditions and low pay, organised by the nascent Seamen’s Loyal Standard Association (SLSA), had blocked two ships from leaving port. Supporters gathered on the banks.


When it became a skirmish,


troops were deployed. They read the Riot Act and fired first over the heads of the crowd, then directly at protesters. Three seafarers and four bystanders, including a 22-year-old shipwright and


Chris Morley NUJ Northern and Midlands senior organiser


NUJ “


This shows it is possible for a small chapel to navigate complicated recognition law to achieve what members are seeking


the past 25 years, she has been a correspondent at Channel 4 News.


Holmes and Dodge gave


moving speeches about their careers and their passion for the profession. Rogerson, who was unable to attend the event, has worked in trade and technology press since starting his career in 1979.


a woman in her 70s, were shot dead. The SLSA was dissolved in


1894, but laid the groundwork for later maritime unions. On the 200th anniversary of what is now known as the North Sands Massacre, about 80 people walked to the site to hear speakers including Sunderland mayor Ehthesham Haque and national secretary of the RMT union Darren Procter. The victims’ names were read out and a wreath laid.


NUJ


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