04 Geting the data T


he Book Branch is an active branch with 700-plus members – since the pandemic it has seen a boost in


atendance at its virtual meetings. Catherine Brereton, branch


treasurer, said: “It’s been good to see new faces. People are obviously worried about their working conditions and jobs and perhaps having an online meeting makes it easier for more to atend. It’s been good to make contact and has enabled us to monitor the situation in publishing. “Tere have been equality implications of the health crisis and of lockdown: both are


Labour listens


Catherine Brereton spoke at a town hall meeting of 80 NUJ members and the Labour Party’s culture and media team, Jo Stevens and Chris Matheson, about how disastrous a crash-out Brexit would be for the publishing


industry. Michelle Stanistreet discussed the union’s News Recovery Plan and members highlighted the problems faced by freelances during Covid-19, atacks on journalists and BBC cuts.


disproportionately affecting different groups covering ethnicity, age, gender, disability and other health factors, class, and family and caring responsibilities. Gathering more information about members’ experiences will inform what activists can do to help them and in our negotiations with employers.”


in practice some staff are not being given a choice. Faber, another recognised NUJ chapel, has furloughed about 40 per cent of its staff by alternating departments, morale is suffering and many are feeling overworked. Independents, Verso and Pluto,


Te branch has been tracking pay cuts, furlough, reductions in hours, holidays, workloads, health and safety while home working, those who also have to care for children, the impact these factors have on people’s mental health and their concerns about the future. At Pan Macmillan, where a new chapel is being formed, almost no one has been furloughed, instead the company opted to introduce staggered voluntary pay cuts for those earning more than £32,000 and reducing everyone’s working hours slightly. Penguin Random House, which has a recognised NUJ and Unite joint chapel, agreed to furlough terms suggested by the NUJ with almost no amendments. However, although the agreement stated furlough would be voluntary,


are demonstrating the benefits of union organisation. Despite financial difficulties, Pluto has awarded staff a £50 per month pay rise to compensate for extra costs incurred from home working. Te Book Branch has linked up with Oxford & District branch to monitor publishers in that region which have introduced cost-cuting measures, including pay cuts. Redundancies in the sector could be looming. A survey published last month by Te Bookseller found that more than half of the UK’s small publishers feared they could be out of business by the autumn; bookshop sales have been severely affected by lockdown. Te Bookseller also reported that publishers such as HarperCollins, Hachete and Simon & Schuster were exploring the need for staff to return to their offices in autumn. Catherine said: “We need to ensure that members are equipped to face the challenging months ahead – their health and safety at work is paramount – and that we at the NUJ must resist any threats to working conditions and to jobs themselves.”


You can read a longer version of this piece at htps://oxfordnuj .wordpress.com


BOOKS


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