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NUJ employees move to a four-day working week


NUJ full-time staff have moved to a four-day week on slightly reduced pay. This is to help the union maintain staffing levels and to shore up its finances in case membership falls due to redundancies in the industry. It would also help meet any higher payments in the light of a revaluation of the staff pension deficit. Staff represented by three unions – the NUJ, the GMB and the Republic of Ireland’s Siptu – voted to accept the working hours trial. This began in November and will run until October 2021, which is the start of the union’s new financial year. As part of the arrangement, all staff will continue working from home as they have done throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary,


said that the fall in salary from moving from a five-day to a four-day week was a net five per cent after an additional payment for working from home was factored in. The union continues to operate on a five-day week for members to access help


and advice and cover will be in place if a staff member has a day off. All staff chose their days off. The plan is to return to five-day working in the union’s Headland House headquarters and its regional offices after the trial period. Meanwhile, Headland House remains open


to its tenants. A four-day week is recommended by the


TUC to maintain jobs during the pandemic. Michelle said: “At a very challenged time financially, our priority was to agree a budget that protected current staffing levels and provided flexibility in the coming financial year.” x-ref Viewpoint page 9


Delegate meeting in the spring


THE UNION’S postponed biennial delegate conference is scheduled to be held virtually in the spring. No date has yet been set. The policy-setting meeting, which involves more than


200 delegates from branches in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and continental Europe, had been scheduled for last April in Southport but had to be postponed because of the coronavirus


restrictions. The conference venue later went out of business. The NUJ is planning to hold


a week of virtual events rather than just cover core business. It is intended that


“


The Journalist to remain digital to save money


THE JOURNALIST will continue to be available in a digital format only to save money on printing and postage. The magazine, which goes to all members and has been the only print publication covering the media industry in the UK, was changed from being sent to members’ homes or email-only last spring. Originally, the switch was supposed to last for three editions but that has been extended for the rest of the period covered by the current annual budget, which began in October, although it is possible the decision could be reviewed later next year. The union saves about £100,000 a year by using only a digital platform.


Our priority was to agree a budget that protected current staffing levels and provided flexibility in the coming financial year


Michelle Stanistreet NUJ general secretary


inbrief...


SUZANNE MOORE QUITS GUARDIAN Columnist Suzanne Moore has left the Guardian after more than 10 years, several months after more than 300 staff at the newspaper complained about her comments on transgender issues. Moore, who won the Orwell Foundation’s Journalism Prize last year, said that she and her children had faced death and rape threats.


PROFITS FALL AT MAIL PUBLISHER DMGT, publisher of the Mail, Metro and the i, reported revenue down 10 per cent to £1.2 billion and pre-tax profits down 36 per cent to £72 million for the year to September. The biggest fall in revenue was at the Metro, where circulation was a quarter of what it was at the start of the first lockdown.


branches and chapels can highlight their work and that more members can take part. There will be training and skills sessions. The union saved £150,000


by not holding the meeting but lost its £22,000 deposit when the venue went under.


JUMP IN NEWSPAPER HOME DELIVERIES Newspaper and magazine delivery service NewsTeam has seen its customer base jump 72 per cent from 24,400 direct customers in March to about 42,000. The massive increase in demand for home deliveries coincided with the start of the coronavirus lockdown when the most vulnerable had to self-isolate for 12 weeks.


Future to buy Go Compare


Magazine publisher Future is buying the owner of price comparison site Go Compare for £594 million. This comes as Future tripled


its pre-tax profits for the second year in a row, helped by a series of acquisitions. In the past couple of years, it has bought video content


production agency Barcroft Studios, magazine publisher TI Media and digital entertainment brand CinemaBlend. Future reported pre-tax profits in the year to the end of September of £52 million compared with last year’s total of £12.7 million and £4.4 million in 2018.


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