Pay up EMAP!

11 September 2002

Update

On Friday 6 September the EMAP chapel voted unanimously to send their case to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service ACAS. The planned second week on strike is suspended. They await a response from management. Magazines sector organiser Mike Sherrington says that "Freelances were tremendously supportive in not filing copy and not doing shifts - the chapel is more than happy."

The picket outside EMAP on 30 August, with the General Secretary in attendance.

28 August 2002

Magazines join the pay fight

Please support NUJ members at Emap Healthcare and Public Sector Management magazines, who will be on strike on Friday 30th August as the pay campaign hits London.

The chapel would obviously appreciate it if any freelances asked to cover at these titles were unavailable. Any freelances who suffer hardship while being unavailable should get in touch with the chapel: if you have trouble contacting them, contact the Freelance.

The 37 journalists are fighting for a decent pay rise and a £25,000 minimum rate for qualified/experienced reporters and subs - at the moment there are huge differentials of as much as £7,000 between staff doing the same job. Even this rate will not take journalists anywhere near the London average wage of £34,777 a year.

For four years, the company refused to recognise the union and gave "rises" that barely scraped the rate of inflation. Over the same period the cost of living in London has skyrocketed.

Now the NUJ has won recognition, members are determined to make it mean something in practice. The journalists have rejected a "final" offer of £500 rise and a £21,000 minimum - an offer that in total is worth less than 2 per cent of the pay bill. And the company is not poor - Emap Healthcare/PSM raked in profits of £30m last year.

Any support and solidarity you can give is welcome. Please send messages of support to Tash Shifrin, MoC, at tashshifrin@hotmail.com.

Any donations should be made payable to "NUJ Emap Healthcare" and sent to David Crouch, 6 Muswell Road, London N10 2BH.

Picket lines will be up at the Emap offices in Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7EJ from early morning, with a meeting and speakers at 10.30am on Friday 30 August. This is just opposite Mornington Crescent tube and supporters, banners etc are welcome.

Miles Barter
NUJ northern regional organiser