Birmingham and Coventry National Union of Journalists

NUJ March Branch Meeting
Tuesday 12th March
Carrs Lane Church Centre
Carrs Lane
Birmingham
B4 7SX
6:00 pm for 6:30 pm start
Any apologies to branch chair:  alan.weaver1@ntlworld.com
Agenda
1) Introduction by chair/those attending
2) Minutes of February  meeting
3) Secretary/Treasurers reports
4) Branch reports
5) Up date on disputes
6) Any other business
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-  19 MPs Criticise Trinity Mirror Attack on Jobs
-  BBC Executive Accused Of Bullying
-  BBC Strike Hailed Huge Success
-  NUJ Member Rzhwan Amin Back in Manchester Where he Belongs
-  Former NUJ President Kyran Connolly Dies After Long Illness
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19 MPs Criticise Trinity Mirror Attack on Jobs
NUJ organised a series of national meetings of reps inside the Trinity Mirror group over plans to centralise many aspects of editorial operations at their titles. Management want 92 redundancies on English & Welsh titles, although they claimed a small number of new jobs would be created. Most of the redundancies are occurring in the Midlands the North-west. There was much anger over poor consultation and the threat of compulsory redundancies. The NUJ had met TM Editorial Director Neil Benson and the Head of HR. Ballots have taken place at five sites covering Birmingham, Chester, Coventry, Manchester and Merseyside. Chris Morley said that the TM Group Chapel had a lot of good reps and would be meeting again on 1st March, 2013 in London to discuss its response. Meantime whether or not  you work for Trinity Mirror, check if your MP has signed EDM 1003, if they haven't, please insist they do.

Early Day Motion 1003: Trinity Mirror Job Losses
That this House expresses deep concern at the announcement by Trinity Mirror that it intends cutting 92 editorial jobs; notes that Media Wales faces the loss of 16 job cuts, including a proposal to disband the features unit which is responsible for generating valuable Welsh-specific news content; further expresses concern at the impact of such a development on Welsh democracy; further notes that Media Wales titles have faced over a decade of cuts; and urges Trinity Mirror urgently to hold talks with the National Union of Journalists.

Sponsors: Caton, Martin/ Clwyd, Ann/ Corbyn, Jeremy/ Dobbin, Jim / Doran, Frank/ Edwards, Jonathan /Flynn, Paul / Lavery, Ian / Leech, John / Llwyd, Elfyn / McGovern, Jim  / Meale, Alan  / Morris, Grahame M / Osborne, Sandra / Owen, Albert / Ruane, Chris  /Ruddock, Joan / Williams, Hywel / Woodward, Shaun
<>  House of Commons: 31/01/2013

Put your MP to work demand they sign EDM 1003
You can contact your MP for free, through: WriteToThem.Com
http://www.writetothem.com/
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BBC Executive Accused Of Bullying
The National Union of Journalists is understood to have submitted a 100-page report to the BBC regarding allegations of bullying, harassment and intimidation at the corporation. Some 40 pages of it are believed to relate to a single, long-serving BBC employee.

Other members of BBC staff are also understood to be the subject of multiple accusations of bullying, although not on the scale of the employee in question, who is accused of bullying behaviour over a sustained period. The executive is understood to deny the allegations.

Rose's inquiry was set up by the BBC's then director general, George Entwistle, in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal in October last year.
Read more: John Plunkett, <>  The Guardian, 20/02/13
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BBC Strike Hailed Huge Success
Monday 18th February: Skeleton staffs of managers struggled to provide a threadbare service which provoked adverse comments from listeners and viewers. The action meant that Radio 4's Today programme, World at One, PM and Newsnight were forced off the air. Breakfast TV was severely disrupted.

 NUJ official pickets and supporters - up to 50 or 60 people in some centres -ensured wide public awareness of the  union's message that making compulsory redundancies while at the same time advertising posts elsewhere in the corporation is not acceptable.
Read more <>  here . . . .
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NUJ Member Rzhwan Amin Back in Manchester Where he Belongs
Rzhwan was detained by UKBA in early January, an attempt to deport Rzhwan on Wednesday 30th January was halted by legal action. Though the removal was stayed, Rzhwan remained in Immigration Detention until Monday 18th February, when a successful bail application obtained his release. Conditions of bail are very restrictive he has to wear an electronic tag and is subject to a curfew. Nonetheless Rzhwan is delighted to be back in Manchester and thanks all NUJ members who Emailed/faxed letters of protest to UKBA and Jordanian Airlines.

Rzhwan Amin Writes on Freedom
I was raised in a country where the idea of freedom of speech that had circled in my mind was, in practice, randomly forbidden without any reason. In public debates and the media real opinions were not expressed clearly but were heavily coded. Articles were often revised and key phrases changed before their publication. Over time the weight of the realisation of this predicament grew as my many attempts to express my honest opinions publicly failed. For us, as journalists in Iraq, the option of free speech was not regarded highly by ruling forces.

After the liberation of Iraq, labelled "Operation Iraqi Freedom", I was based in Kirkuk. The post-war healing period was longer than Iraqi people expected and led to many civil disorders in both Kirkuk and Baghdad including riots, political corruption, and anarchy in every sense of the word.

The conflicts between ethnic groups spread throughout the population. I still remember when the Kurds fought against the Turks in 2004 in Kirkuk and my mother told that this happened before in 1957. Arabs, Kurds, and Turks increased their efforts to gain power and thus declare control in the area. The same scenario took place in Baghdad among the Shias and the Sunnis, which led to the arbitrary sackings of academic and professional Sunnis. This included Professor Dr Naji al Tekriti and Dr Saad Alhadethi from the University of Baghdad's Philosophy Department in 2003, where I studied.
Read more: RAPAR website <>  here . . . .
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Former NUJ President Kyran Connolly Dies After Long Illness
The death has taken place after a long illness of former NUJ president and organiser Kyran Connolly. A hugely popular figure in NUJ activities of all sorts. Last year, despite being ill with cancer, Kyran attended the union's delegate meeting in Newcastle as a delegate from his beloved Book branch. The warmth of his reception from fellow-delegates reflected the deep affection the NUJ felt for Kyran, a multi-faceted individual whose sense of fun often disguised his considerable intellectual achievements.
Read more <>  here . . . .
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