Advertising vacancies

Perhaps someone ought to explain why many members of the NEC and the majority of delegates to the Scarborough ADM opposed the Edinburgh Freelance motion on compulsory external advertising of vacancies, a stance which Hilary Macaskill finds "surprising" (Freelance, last issue). Any decent employer advertises vacancies internally first. This is (a) to give staff the opportunity to develop their careers and (b) to maintain continuity and experience within the organisation. If no suitable internal candidate is found, then vacancies are advertised externally. This is not a new development and indeed has been a negotiating goal for trade unions in many industries.

I believe that the staff of the union deserve the same opportunities for career advancement as NUJ members working for, say, the BBC or Reed Elsevier take for granted. That means giving the staff the chance to progress and develop through the unions career structure, not by valuing their experience and learning at naught.

Paul Hardy
NEC, South-East England