Peace breaks out at the MEN
14 May 2006
Peace has broken out at the Manchester Evening News. Just days before the declaration of the result of the second industrial action ballot in the dispute about evening working, an improved deal was put to the chapel on Friday May 12 and accepted.
The ballot result will not be declared and chapel members are now preparing to see the latest rotas, drawn up under the newly-agreed guidelines.
The breakthrough involved news and features subs, who only two weeks ago faced the prospect of working 100 evening shifts each a year – nearly half their working lives. But with judicious use of local working arrangements, that number has fallen to between 40 and 60 depending on a number of variables.
However, the chapel must still sign up to a deal which acknowledges the principle of flexible working for all over an 18-hour day. But, with an acceptance by management of the use of volunteers and the implementation of departmental working arrangements, the number of shifts per person falls dramatically.
Anyone working up to 9pm will receive a £20 dinner payment (up £5 from 18 months ago). Those working to 11pm will get £25 (up £10). The later shift on Fridays will be covered by senior editorial management. Any journalist who DOES clock up more than 80 shifts in a year will earn another £5 per shift. Some staff have agreed individual deals to work a fixed number of later shifts. Members had been working the shifts for a month as a gesture of goodwill during talks and back pay will be paid on those shift allowances dating to April 1 2006.
The MEN management had been determined to rip up a previous deal, only 18 months old, which saw "hired to the task" staff working the shifts. New CEO Mark Dodson wanted an agreement which insisted all staff should cover the shifts, partly because he had got rid of 27 journalists under a redundancy programme. He also wanted a deal that said journalists would be prepared to work between 11pm and 6am if required. That clause was seen off by the NUJ chapel early in the dispute.
The new deal is a tremendous achievement by the chapel, which took a hard line early on and stuck to it rigidly while allowing chapel officers to conduct vigorous, thorough and principled talks (at one point helped by an Acas conciliator). The final breakthrough was masterminded by chapel negotiators and eventually put as a formal agreement by the management.
It has been a long and exhausting haul, but the final deal was made possible by the determination of a chapel in the face of an intransigent management. The support of the NUJ's officials. including Miles Barter and Jeremy Dear. and all the other chapels nationally who backed us made the task a little easier. Thanks to all.
Judy Gordon (FoC) and Eric Jackson (deputy FoC).
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