National Union of Journalists:
Organising against low pay
THE NATIONAL Union of Journalists (NUJ) organised a very successful
conference on 6 November on how the union could organise a national
fightback against low pay. Over 60 activists from England, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland, north and south, took part.
Christian Bunke
"Journalists are all very well off and don’t have to work that
much for it either", I can hear some of our readers say. But a
conference delegate showed how wrong this is: "I worked for a
London-based newspaper. We were that badly paid, we had to dodge the
tube fare. Once we got caught and had to pay a £10 fine. When the
editor heard this, he was worried about how bad this would make the
paper look. The paper always projects outrage about petty crime. He shut
up when we told him we wouldn’t do it if we were paid properly."
An NUJ survey found: "In 1986 journalists earned 96% of the
salary of those working in higher education – today they earn
81.5%." NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear commented: "These
results show that journalists have lost out by almost £5,700 compared
to those in higher education and more than £11,000 in comparison to
secondary school teachers."
At the conference, there was a very serious discussion on the way
forward for a national pay campaign. There was universal agreement that
the union has to strengthen grassroots structures, put a lot more effort
into recruitment, educate a new layer of union reps and increase the
number of recognised workplaces.
There have been 20 applications from groups of journalism students to
set up student chapels of the NUJ. The NUJ will launch recruitment
campaigns at universities and take measures to increase the integration
of young members into branches.
A lot of delegates argued for national pay bargaining, to start
putting unified pay claims within entire companies. There are
difficulties, like very different pay structures in very different
companies but the union should launch national pay campaigns where
possible.
The union is also planning a series of protest rallies against low
pay. Actions like leafleting employers’ events and lobbying MPs and
councillors will also be increased.
