Why do we devote resources to international work, when there are no shortage of domestic demands?

International work has been at the core of the NUJ mission since its inception. The NUJ was among the founders of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in 1926 and has provided a couple of general secretaries and as many presidents.

This work is important for two reasons.

First, we know that colleague journalists around the world suffer terribly – being legally barred from doing their work, being censored, facing physical attack and in a terrible number of cases being murdered. Doing what we can about these issues, pressuring governments and international bodies where we have purchase, is part of how we express our more general commitment to creating a backdrop for journalism to flourish. Supporting colleagues around the world reminds us all of how important journalism is and how critical it is that we work to enable it to flourish.

There is a more practical aspect too. Being quick to offer our solidarity helps build a supportive network of sister unions which whom we enjoy benefits of mutual support. A few brief examples.

Several times in recent years, French unions have pursued unpaid invoices on behalf of NUJ members who have supplied material for French news platforms.

The NUJ has worked closely with our Dutch sister union, the NJV on safety issues. The Dutch journalists’ safety initiative, Pers Veilig was ground-breaking, and an example that has provided a springboard for work with both the UK and the Irish governments. Without that close working relationship and friendship, we would have been casting around in the dark.

We also work closely with sister unions on areas of industrial overlap, important given that many media outlets have a global presence – this is particularly the case with our sister unions in Australia and the US, where the FT and Guardian have sizeable newsrooms.

A final example – although there are plenty more – is the valuable help received from the Indian Journalists Union when NUJ members who are UK citizens, but with Indian heritage, found themselves victims of an Indian government crack-down on journalists entry visas. An inside track from colleagues in India has allowed the NUJ to provide more swift and effective help to our own members.

All of that help we have received, directly benefitting NUJ members, is based on relationships of mutual help. As is the fundraising work we have done – journalist-to-journalist – to help colleagues recently in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Palestine. That is all work I will continue as general secretary.

Do you consider copyright an important issue and what will you do to ensure it remains at the heart of NUJ work.

Defence of copyright and the protection provided by legislation is key to many of our freelance members’ ability to earn their living. It has long been the NUJ’s policy that we provide vigorous support defending individual’s rights. At a policy level the NUJ contributes to bodies such as the Creators’ Rights Alliance and the IFJ’s Author’s Rights Expert Group. That is a trajectory that I will maintain.

There will be fresh challenges, of course. New copyright legislation could be proposed, or we could find ourselves facing international regulation that members consider unfavourable. There could be opportunities too. I would like to see the extension of moral rights to journalism, and think that this could have particular application in the regulation of artificial intelligence. At core, however, the NUJ’s policy will remain a matter of democratic decision making. It is our Delegate Meeting that decides policy, not the General Secretary, and I would not want it any other way.

Has the NUJ been right to support journalists in Gaza?

The scale of the unfolding tragedy in Gaza and Israel is hard to encapsulate. The NUJ was right to robustly condemn the violence of 7 October and the loss of journalists on that day, as well as the plight of the hostages. It has been equally right in supporting the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), in its efforts to support its members in Gaza.

What is really striking to me is how deep is the impulse to help. Thousands of pounds and euros have been donated by branches, chapels and individual members, that have been channeled through the IFJ’s Safety Fund to the PJS, and then into Gaza. It has supported the purchase and distribution of health and technical equipment, food, shelter and clothing as well as the initiative to establish solidarity centres for journalists in Gaza. Support has come from elsewhere, of course, but this kind of practical support for journalists in need is some of the most inspiring that I have seen.

Democracy in the NUJ is nearly extinct. Branches have closed or been merged, there are hardly any contested elections, and the great panoply of councils and committees is largely filled out by the same old faces. PG Dundee

I don’t recognise the picture you paint at all – and there are many committed and active branch activists doing tireless work on behalf of our union – but that is not to say that work is not necessary to reinvigorate our democracy.

We are in the middle of our most important election. Issues are being raised, energy generated, and fresh contacts made. Active participation in this process stands us all in good stead for the future.

We need to look at ways that we can all learn from the excellent work that some Branches are doing. Edinburgh Freelance’s weekly meetings since the start of the pandemic, for example, are a remarkable innovation. Could that be replicated? Leeds and Bristol branches demonstrate levels of vitality that others might emulate. Dublin Freelance runs its regular Forums that bring a whole new demographic into contact with the union.

We must all encourage new reps and activists to get involved in the union’s work and seek to fill vacancies on our councils and committees – diverse engagement at all levels is a huge positive.

Technology has provided new and more flexible and accessible ways to get together which is a positive but there are also good reasons to come together in person – socially for example - and different ways that online meetings could be used to engage wider groups of members. 

How do you asses the Union’s financial health, and what would you change?

Much of our financial policy – the level of subs, for example – is the responsibility of the Delegate Meeting. I can share my opinions, but they are just that. The national executive often takes proposals to the DM, and the GS is part of the NEC, of course.

Our union’s finances are fundamentally stable, largely because of decisions taken early in Michelle Stanistreet’s term of office. We have set balanced budgets, grown our reserves and improved the value of our one core asset (Headland House) for the past decade.

Nonetheless, we do face issues, in particular the slow but steady decline of our membership.

Even if this continues, with prudent management, it will be a long time before the NUJ goes out of business. Much better, however, would be to turn around the overall level of membership. We need to focus our organising efforts strategically and demonstrate how collective organising and action really works and delivers benefits. The visible success of our targeted campaigns is the best advertisement to potential members who do not work in such areas.

How will you tackle freelance rates that haven't budged for years – particularly for photographers.

I know the issue you describe well – it is true for a great many freelance commissions, particularly in the legacy print sector. Newspapers and magazines have exploited the disruption created by the move to digital publication to visit a lot of their economic pain on those who can do least about it – freelance contributors.

There is no magic fix, but over time we can make a difference. There is a lot of positive work taking place on these issues already which we need to draw together and learn from. We need to strengthen the link between our chapels and freelances and look to collective organization to win improvements.

It is also important to help members diversify their income, so that they have the economic confidence to turn down work where the pay offered is unacceptable. Some work has been done in this area – but there is plenty more to do.

We have had some successes. Last year, a group of subs from The Times came to the NUJ and told us that different day rates were paid for similar work within the group. Even though the NUJ is locked out of recognition within News UK, the union sought a meeting and made a case of sufficient strength that day rates were evened up across the newspapers. Now there is lots more that we could do at News UK, but it shows that it is possible for collective pressure to be applied either by or on behalf of freelances.