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Branch May 2020


Welcome to NUJ Branch, the second of a special newsleter for branches to provide information and swap experiences during the present crisis. Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary, provides an update on the work she is doing in support of members, her meeting with ministers and branches and carrying out the union’s international work – all from her kitchen table.


ever changing. Tanks all of you who completed the union’s Covid-19 survey – it made for sober reading, with members suffering real hardship and anxiety as a result of cancelled work, furloughs and pay cuts, with many fearing that this is the eye of the storm and ahead lies looming redundancies, more cuts and a slow return to freelance work and commissions. Our efforts are squarely focussed


I


on trying to avoid any such scenario, and building support for meaningful intervention in our industry, to reboot the sector and enable it to emerge stronger than before. Tat’s why we’ve worked hard to


increase our offering of online courses to help members cope during the crisis, brush up on training and learn new professional skills. Trough the Federation of Entertainment Unions, we have secured a great deal with the BBC’s Journalism Academy for our freelance members – opening up an exciting suite of online courses. I continue to take part in fortnightly


t continues to be a crazy, busy time for the union, as the Covid-19 situation unfolds, with clarifications and new advice from the government and the situation


meetings alongside a range of representatives from the employers’ side of the industry and ministers at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Last week I raised the 90 jobs at risk at Midland News Association and, while welcoming the Chancellor’s extension of the Jobs Retention Scheme, said there was a critical need for further financial aid for freelances and self-employed – and an urgent closing of the gaps in provision that have leſt so many freelances adriſt. I also pushed for independent newspapers and hyperlocals who missed out on government-generated advertising and argued for an exemption for journalists to new quarantine rules which could severely restrict reporting from abroad in the coming months. Te Minister was shocked to be told of the situation in Northern Ireland, where the entire staff at Te Sunday Life and Sunday World has been threatened by the break-away South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association aſter reporting on its criminal activities. Te union has worked with the Irish press, unions, politicians, religious and other communities to condemn this blatant atack on press freedom. (see page 5). From my kitchen table, I’ve had the pleasure of atending the Zoom meetings


of London Freelance and Sunderland, Shield and Hartlepool branches. I’ve also held countless video meetings with a range of organisations to build support for our News Recovery Plan. We’ve seen in recent days how Buzzfeed is closing its UK and Australian offices, Vice has cut 55 jobs in the US and 100 elsewhere and Quartz are cuting 80 jobs and closing its London office. Tese online start-up upstarts were supposed to be the future. But as Vice’s CEO Nancy Dubuc said, they’ve all been “choked” by the big tech companies. Tat’s why we are calling for a windfall levy of 6 per cent on Google and Facebook and companies which have sucked journalism dry. We have had meetings with DCMS officials, the Labour shadow team and a group of leading LibDems to discuss the Plan. A number of branches are already going great guns playing their part in building support – as we start to ramp up our campaign, we want as many other branches to help fight not just for the survival of the industry, but a sustainable future.


In Solidarity,


Michelle Stanistreet


NUJ


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