30 January 2005

Rentamob required

Nice types, no riff-raff needed to lobby media industry events where the NUJ plans to mount protests. Volunteers are needed to leaflet promoting anti-low pay campaigns and other issues.

Events to be targeted:

March 15 - British Press Awards, London

March 21-24 NUJ recruitment week - across UK

April 21 Reuters AGM, London

April 28/29 European Newspaper Publishers Association annual conference, London

May 3/4 PPA Magazines 2005 annual event

May 16-22 Local newspaper week

May 17 Newspaper Society AGM - location to be confirmed

November 17 Periodicals Publishers Association CEO annual meeting

Names/email address to Jeremy Dear at NUJ HQ in the smoke. The union's also looking for members to help run stalls at media careers fairs around the UK. And if you know of other events Rentamob can target, come forward with the details.

28 January 2005

NUJ job up for grabs

The union is creating a campaigns and communications officer to, among other things, beef up communication strategy; develop the NUJ's web presence; produce high-quality campaign material; work with MPs etc.

Journalistic qualifications and experience in trade union movement essential. Salary: £41,000. Application forms from general secretary, Headland House, 308-312 Gray's Inn Road, London. Closing date March 7. Interviews to be held on March 9.

BBC charter renewal meeting - March 22

The TUC hosts a meeting on the Beeb's charter renewal with BBC Chairman Michael Grade and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell at Congress House, London on Tue March 22, 2.30pm to 4.30pm. It's part of the consultation on the Beeb charter. If you want to go we've got a copy of a form you need to fill out which has to be returned to the TUC by March 1.

22 January 2005

New online pay database launched

Branch officers and chapel reps can now use an online database of salary details when negotiating pay details.

The database was set up in partnership with the Labour Research Department and holds details of nearly 2,500 pay agreements including salaries, holiday, London weighting and paternity leave.

To access the database, email davida@nuj.org.uk to get a username and password.

Running her socks off...

How much did you donate to the Tsunami appeal?

If you're still looking for right moment - look no further! New branch member Abbe Bates is attempting the Hastings half marathon on 13 March. Last year she finished in around two hours, and this year she'll be raising money for victims of the Asian tsunami. And she'll be running alongside her Dad, who normally takes part dressed as a clown...

Email us if you fancy chipping in some cash and we'll pass your details to Abbe over at the Group Travel Organiser in Hastings.

19 January 2005

January meeting - new venue, new blood!

Minutes

Apologies
Adrian Colley
Present
Jemima Kiss, Barbara Wiseman, Fred Pipes, Linda Harrison, Abbey Bates, Peter Newman
The Nelson, Trafalgar Street, Brighton

1 Magazines and updates
Copies of January branch newsletter, Searchlight, Justice for Colombia, International Federation of Journalists newsletter, Free Press and the NUJ mail all made available.

Book branch news sheet and promo for new Rupert Murdoch book made available

2 Union information
Information given out on new pay database for reps.

Freelance wellbeing report made available. Another copy to be requested from head office for future reference. Is the full report available on the NUJ website?

Information made available on Freedom of Information Act.

3 ADM agenda
No amendments suggested. JK said a good motion would be that as a professional organisation, branch websites should be properly organised, supported and hosted with main NUJ site. Will have to wait until next year.

4 Delegates
As meeting is inquorate, decided to post details on website and ask members to vote. But then FP AB and PN arrived. LH put forward motion to nominate JK for ADM, seconded by FP. Rowan Dore, Fraser Addecott and Virginia Bridgewater also want to go, but were not present at the meeting.

5 New members
New members all approved: Samantha Hicks, Hastings Observer; Mark Baynes, freelance photographer; Katherine Simmons, East Grinstead Observer; Chris Pollard, Hastings Observer; Angela Peterson, Hastings Observer.
Temporary members all approved: Rupert Rivett, photographer; Sam Walker, photographer.

6 Tsunami
Request for donation towards media workers appeal in Asia. AB put forward motion for £75, LH seconded.

7 AOB
Is January newsletter on the website?

Pub: all agreed venue is great. Much more lively and sociable than Sussex Arts Club (SAC), but back room still quiet and roomy enough for meetings. SAC should be informed if we will not be meeting there for the time being.

Quiz - great idea. The Nelson's pub quiz is held every Tuesday, so we'd need to change the meeting day. All agreed that this should be OK. Members could be told that union meeting starts at 7.30, and quiz starts as 8.30.

Teams are of up to six people and it costs £1 per team to enter. Advised to arrive early to get a table. Prizes of cash and wine.

Next meeting should be Tuesday 15 February at 7.30pm.

JK also suggested looking at other social events for the branch, such as indoor climbing at Shoreham, theatre trips and more parties. AB is running the Hastings half marathon in March and JK suggested the branch should sponsor her.

JK said that she will modify the website to make it clearer how to post a comment, or sign in to post an entry.

JK thanked AB and PN for coming all the way over from Hastings for their first branch meeting.

Cracking meeting tonight!

New venue, new blood!

Will post a summary and minutes etc ASAP. Thanks to Abbe and Peter from Group Travel Organiser for making the trip all the way from Eastbourne. The Nelson is a great venue.

More soon...

13 January 2005

No pub quiz at January meeting

Apologies to some members who have been sent this month's mailout saying that there is a pub quiz after next Wednesday's meeting. We've got it wrong. There will be a meeting on Wednesday at the Nelson in Brighton but there is no pub quiz.

One of the items on the agenda is whether we should switch to a new venue from the Arts Club and whether we should meet on a different day.

If you have a view let us know, or even sign up to the site and contribute to this thread!

Colombian congressman to speak in Brighton

Message this morning from our comrades at Justice for Colombia:

Dear friends,

During the first week of March 2005 Justice for Colombia will be hosting Colombian Congressman Wilson Borja in the UK. Wilson was formerly the leader of the public sector union in Colombia before being elected to Congress and is now Colombia’s foremost opposition politician standing up for the rights of trade unionists and other progressive sectors in that country. He is also one of the most threatened people in Colombia and has been the victim of numerous assassination attempts. During one of these attempts Wilson was shot three times and one of his bodyguards killed. He is now forced to travel everywhere in an armoured car with 14 armed bodyguards with him at all times.

Justice for Colombia will be bringing Wilson to Brighton during his visit to the UK and the AUT at Sussex University have very kindly offered to organise a venue for the meeting at the university campus. The date for the meeting is Wednesday 2nd March and it will be held at some time in the late afternoon. We hope to get as many people as possible to come to the meeting, in particular trade unionists, students and other activists.

As an affiliate of Justice for Colombia we write to ask that your branch also get involved with planning and promoting this meeting and would ask that you make contact should you be willing to do so. 

Wilson is an extremely charismatic speaker who will be able to give a very informative overview of what is happening in Colombia and in particular the problems faced by trade unionists.

We hope to hear from you soon and would ask that you copy any replies into Jim Guild at Sussex AUT on j.guild@sussex.ac.uk

All the best and thank you in advance for your help with this.

Liam Craig-Best
Secretary, Justice for Colombia
Tel: 020 7794 3644
Email: liam@justiceforcolombia.org

12 January 2005

Represent Brighton branch

Brighton/Mid Sussex branch has been asked if it would like to send someone to an event at Headland House in London.

A presentation is being held on Wednesday February 9 from 5.30pm until about 7.30pm for learning reps who have succecssfully completed the learning rep course. Refreshments will be provided and we will also pay your reasonable travel expenses.

The evening will provide a good opportunity to meet with the established learning reps and hear first hand how they are promoting learning and training in their workplaces.

If you're interested contact adecolley@1927club.com and your details can be passed on to Deirdre Heinrich. Need to know by January 21.

Wanna be a learning rep?

The union is looking for members to become learning reps in their workplaces.

A project worker Deirdre Heinrich was recently appointed NUJ learning rep project worker. Her role as project worker is to recruit and provide support for learning reps and she is willing to attend a branch meetings or chapel meeting to tell members more about it.

Learning reps were granted statutory rights for time off to train and perform their duties in the workplace and where learning reps are in place they are providing valuable advice and information about learning and training to their colleagues.


11 January 2005

Searchlight magazine

January copy of anti-fascist magazine now available. If you want it email adecolley@1927club.com and I will put it in the post.

Tsunami appeal

NUJ President Jeremy Dear is appealing to members to back journalists affected by the tsunami in Indonesia.

Over New Year he received calls from many NUJ members anxious to find out information about the fate of journalists. The news is grim.

In the Aceh province of Indonesia alone most of the 80 staff of Serambi Indonesia, the only daily newspaper are dead or missing after the tsunami tore through its offices.

Since its founding in the 1990s, the paper has been one of the only sources of information from the war-ravaged Aceh Province. Its journalists have routinely faced violent attacks, threats and intimidation from both sides of the conflict in the region.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists reports that almost two-thirds of its members in Banda Aceh have been killed or are missing. Throughout Northern Sumatra around 200 journalists are missing.

The General Secretary of the AJI, Nezar Patria, lost 20 members of his family in the disaster.

The NUJ, along with other international journalists' organisations has already pledged funds and support for the AJI and will be working closely with the International Federation of Journalists who have set up a special disaster fund (see www.ifj.org ).

Members have already responded magnificently to this tragedy but assistance is still badly needed.

Donations should be made payable to IFJ Safety Fund and sent to Jeremy Dear, General Secretary, NUJ, Headland House, 308 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8DP. Of pay by credit card by calling the NUJ on 020 7278 7916.



03 January 2005

Justice for Colombia mag

Another hair-raising read from S America. We have one copy of the JFC's latest magazine. Again, I can put it in the post to whoever wants it.