Contents:   Minutes of NUJ Paris Branch Meeting AGM NUJ Delegate meeting – Eastbourne Training Upcoming Events Links Dear Colleagues! Thank you for the very satisfactory attendance and support provided at the Paris branch AGM last month. I appreciate the confidence you have placed in me for another year in office as chairman of the Paris branch. As I said during the meeting on March 25, it has been a collective effort and all the members of the branch committee deserve a round of applause for the contributions they made over the past year. We also congratulate those who have just joined the committee for their commitment to the NUJ. At the April meeting you will hear a report from myself and Karen Kissane about our attendance at the NUJ Delegate Meeting which took place at Eastbourne on 11-13 April. I also propose to circulate details of a proposal to make a joint submission, along with our French union partners and the European federation of Journalists,  for European funding for a project involving a conference on “The rise of extremist political groups in Europe: the role of journalists in documenting this phenomenon.” I will circulate the written bid document to all members in due course. You will note on the draft agenda we plan to undertake a thorough job of weeding through of contact lists, which include paid-up members, people who may have lapsed, and ex-members. It has been suggested that we pay somebody from branch funds a modest hourly rate to perform this task. It would involve contacting people whose status might be uncertain, to encourage them to stay in the union, or to be dropped from the register. I welcome any comments on these or other points relating to NUJ Paris branch. Best wishes to all, James Overton, chair of Paris branch email=james3AQ@yahoo.fr mob. 0677 371785 Thiery Cerinato and Patrick Kamenka at NUJ meeting Text Minutes of the NUJ Paris Branch meeting March 25, 2013 Present: 22 members: Jeff Apter, Chloe Baker, Michael Balter, Pat Brett, Alison Culliford, Nigel Dickenson, Natasha Edwards, Heidi Ellison, Zoe Harris, Nat Harrison, Sam Khan-McIntyre, Karen Kissane, Susan Luraschi, Gavin McIntyre, Lillian Malki, Chris Myant, Julian Nundy, James Overton (chair), Annabel Simms, Diana Smith, Pierre Tran, Mike Woods (minutes) Apologies: 4 members: Sam Davies, Jennifer Laidlaw, Andrew Spurrier, Hugh Wheelan Chair opens meeting at 6:47 pm Minutes of February meeting The following minutes were read and accepted: “The meeting opened without quorum. “January minutes were read and accepted with no matters arising. “Nat Harrison and Jeff Apter reported on recent meetings at RFI to resurrect activism in the chapel there, forming partnerships with the Anglo American Press Association on seminars, supporting staff at AITV, and on general efforts to ensure the five French chapels remain active. A meeting with the BBC chapel was to happen in early March. “Julian Elliot was voted to membership. Angus Sibley said he would draft a letter to HO asking them to be sure they forwarded all relevant information pertaining to membership applications. “Attendees to April’s Delegate Meeting were encouraged to return their forms and to try and attend the full five days. “It was stressed special efforts be made to ensure quorum for the branch’s annual general assembly. “And a motion was adopted expressing support for colleagues at Reuters France who are locked into a dispute with management over funding and staffing levels.” Matters arising: James notes he has reviewed Angus’s draft letter and would send it to HO. Officer reports Nat Harrison reports a branch initiative led staff at RFI to hold a productive workplace discussion ahead of a larger company meeting to discuss reforms to the English service. There was less success however with the Anglo American Press Association as there was not enough support on efforts to work together on a seminar on taxation. A meeting with the BBC chapel was still pending. Natasha Edwards reports being in discussion of questions over freelance contracts with Barbara Casassus, namely questions over liability and the little protection offered by NUJ legal support. Workplace reports AITV (Lillian): an audit within France Televisions (FT) said AITV was a good and valuable service but that FT needs to cut costs; unions are making various suggestions about what to do; there is some talk of handing Africa TV coverage to AFP TV. In short, FT doesn’t know what to do with AITV and its timetable is out of sync; there is the feeling that FT wants AITV staff to accept its redundancy plan and leave as quietly as possible, but staff do not regard the terms as attractive; it’s hard to know if an official pledge to redeploy staff within the company is credible. Unions have signed a letter saying they are against the plan; management can push the plan itself, but that would lead to a legal case. The NUJ and partner unions can remain in solidarity; SNJ was to launch a strike action and hoped others could join. RFI (Mike): the main points coming out of the meeting with management were that broadcast hours would be shuffled, that the radio would air France24 TV, and that staff would be required to work differently. The last point was not yet clear and was of concern to staff, as the management indicated it would mean producing content for radio and web and doing more translation and adaptation and less original reporting. Membership Chloe Baker was elected to full membership, proposed by Pierre, seconded by Heidi and approved unanimously with one abstention (from a member who entered halfway through the deliberation). CEC report Zoe reports the February CEC meeting discussed PM81, DM14 motions, EFJ’s independence from IFJ and the safety of journalists in Ukraine. She noted that online subs payments in euro would be tested first in Ireland before rolling out to Continental Europe. Finance Zoe reports the branch account held 4174 euros in Janurary, and that after about 15 euros in expenditures the current balance was 4159,84 euros. There was 1€52 in the Livret A savings account (including 2 centimes of interest). Zoe proposed to transfer 2000 euros into it. Zoe was looking for ways to speed up payment processes and getting around the need of two signatures. DM attendees James and Karen have sent delegate forms and were waiting to hear about accommodations from HO. Branch members were invited to run through the final agenda in the membership section of the website and communicate any observations to James and Karen. A message would go out as soon as possible on the Grapevine. AOB Alison Culliford spoke of efforts to launch World Radio Paris, an English-language radio station. It has support of the Paris region, which allocated funds to use a radio tower in Montmartre, and also raised funds with crowdfunding campaign. It will be eligible for grants once broadcasting starts. It would be a community radio, and it was not yet defined whether it was to be more informative or entertaining. It would offer training for Audacity software and microphones. There would be no advertising, but would have sponsored shows. As a non-profit venture working with volunteers, there was little union aspect, but it could be of interest to members looking for radio experience. Alison also noted that after three years, she was stepping down as CEC rep on the Ethics Council due to not being able to attend regular meetings. The spot was open to any member in Continental Europe. The branch would inform members about the position. Diana Smith was stepping down as Membership Lists coordinator and noted the new person would need instructions on how to clear returns, noting HO lists is different than branch list for example. Chair closes meeting at 8:06 pm. SUMMARY FOR NEWSLETTER Summary of the NUJ Paris Branch meeting of March 25, 2013 FOLLOWING THE NUJ PARIS BRANCH MARCH REGULAR MEETING Tues 25 March 2014Present: 20 members: Jeff Apter, Chloe Baker, Michael Balter, Pat Brett, Nigel Dickenson, Natasha Edwards, Heidi Ellison, Zoe Harris, Nat Harrison, Sam Khan-McIntyre, Karen Kissane, Susan Luraschi, Gavin McIntyre, Lillian Malki, Chris Myant, James Overton (chair), Annabel Simms, Diana Smith, Pierre Tran, Mike Woods (minutes) Apologies: 6 members: Alison Culliford, Sam Davies, Jennifer Laidlaw, Julian Nundy, Andrew Spurrier, Hugh Wheelan Chair opens meeting at 8:18 pm AGENDA 1/ Adoption of standing orders skipped 2/ Adoption of agenda, apologies for absence noted 3/ Minutes of 2013 AGM, matters arising read and accepted 4/ Secretary’s annual report Mike reported the branch held regular meetings as per guidelines; that there was quorum in all but one meeting and that meetings drew an average of 10 members, that guests included members of the French Press Card committee (who came on two occasions) and union VP Adam Christie, that the branch maintained its traditions of Summer and Christmas dinners and started something new with the speaker seminar in October, which had better than expected turnout and overall positive feedback from attendees. 5/ Treasurer’s annual report Zoe was still receiving subs inquiries, but much fewer than before; she would transfer money to Livret A; and that most of the year’s work was around the speaker seminar. 6/ Freelance annual report Natasha updated the freelancer fact pack and been trying to make contact with London for reports and to better keep informed. 7/ Other reports Nat reported workplaces had all been contacted, visited and encouraged to keep active and that there were some positive and tangible results, especially at RFI. 8/ Chair’s annual report James noted he has made efforts to build links with French unions since NUJ does not have many negotiating rights in French workplaces and hoped the branch agrees partnerships have gone well; that he has made effort to get everyone to weigh in on the speaker seminar, inspired to carry on with future seminars; and that he tried to be active in terms of drafting DM motions. He thanked committee members for their work. 9/ Election of executive officers and branch committee The following positions were elected (member, nominator, seconder, voting results): Vice Chair – Chris Myant (Annabel, Jeff, voted unanimously) Chair – James Overton (Jeff, Mike, voted unanimously) Membership Secretary – Angus Sibley (James, Nat, voted unanimously) Freelance Officer – Natasha Edwards (Jeff, Susan, voted unanimously) Welfare and Equality officer – Susan Luraschi (James, Pat, voted unanimously) Recruitment and Retention – Nat Harrison (Jeff, Heidi, voted unanimously) (Nat noted he would be leaving Paris on September 1 but would do the job until then) Secretary – Mike Woods (Jeff, Zoe, voted unanimously) Treasurer – Zoe Harris (James, Mike, voted unanimously) Membership List coordinator – Susan Luraschi (Diana, Chris, voted unanimously) Grapevine Coordinator – Jennifer Laidlaw (Mike, Pierre, voted unanimously) Newsletter Editor – There were no nominees. Jeff Apter noted he would be willing to help anyone willing to do it and offered to do April issue if chair pledged to find someone for May. Sam Khan-McIntyre offered to take up the task if she relocates to Paris. French Labour Law – no election; not required. Jeff, Nat and Pierre would be available for consultation. Books – no election; not required Auditor – George Kandalaft and Steven Dibiasio Roaming Officer (if required) – no election; not required 10/ Any other business none Chair closes meeting at 8:51 pm.  DGS By a narrow majority, the NUJ Delegate Meeting in Eastbourne earlier this month decided to scrap elections for the position of Deputy General Secretary.  The conference was able to do this because the previous holder of this post, Barry Fitzpatrick, quit his job at the end of last year. The measure will result in significant cost savings for the union. The union leadership produced a detailed and convincing review of the position which suggested an appointed DGS would be more efficient. The report revealed that conflicts had arisen in past years between the General secretary and the Deputy, whose role has been ill-defined in the union statutes.  It was stressed that today, it is absolutely essential for the DGS to be active as an organiser in one of the union’s industrial sectors.  In other words, the union can not afford the luxury of having two top managers. Fitzpatrick himself fulfilled this requirement, being the chief organiser for national newspapers. The conference was told that in the past, union members sometimes elected a candidate with no organizing experience – a serious disadvantage. The change puts the NUJ in line with practice with other UK trade unions, the majority of which have appointed deputy General Secretaries. NUJ Paris delegate Karen Kissane spoke in this debate, backing General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet’s advocacy of the reform. Opponents of the measure argued vociferously that the change risked being anti-democratic. With just the GS and the editor of the union’s magazine “The Journalist” elected, there will be only two officers chosen by the membership. Meanwhile NUJ Paris delegation withdrew its motion proposing that the editor of the “Journalist” should no longer be an elected position. We took the view that our resolution had been overtaken by events. The incumbent “Journalist” editor faces re-election later this year. Conference voted to tighten up the job description for the holder of this position. INTERNATIONAL Little time was left for debate on motions in the “International” section of the conference agenda, which was scheduled for the final Sunday morning session. A motion put forward by Paris, supporting NUJ members at France Television’s AITV newsroom, was not debated and was remitted to the National Executive Council to attend to. NEW PRESIDENTS The new co-presidents of the NUJ are Adam Christie and Andy Smith who are operating a job-share method of doing the job. Smith comes from the book sector of the union while Christie, well known to Paris branch, is a freelance writer and editor based in Leeds. The president chairs the union’s ruling National Executive Committee.     So, the Pitch & Deal training course is now going ahead in Brussels, and will be at the IFJ offices on Saturday 26th April 2014. NB. Note that because this is a role-playing course, numbers are extremely limited. There is a meximum of 16 people, and we have five takers in Brussels branch already. So if you know anyone who is interested then they are advised to book (and pay) immediately. If we are actually swamped with demand and have to start a wait-list, then there is the possibility of having a second day on the Sunday for another 16 people. But this is not guaranteed and will depend on numbers, as course tutor fees have to be paid accordingly. For the first day the original intention was to reserve 10 places for members and 6 for non-members. But with 5 booked already it may be a case of first come first served (members first of course). Also please note that, if we have enough people booking from Paris and Amsterdam, we may be able to adjust the start time slightly to account for trains. Look forward to seeing you on the 26th April Best regards Philip philip.hunt@lines.be +32 2 687 2177+32 2 687 2177 +32 484 361336+32 484 361336 (mob) http://www.lines.be/ http://www.shoeman.eu/ http://www.nujcec.org/paris/