NUJ's campaign for recognition at PA moves to next stage
Central Arbitration Committee makes decision
The NUJ’s long-running campaign for recognition for editorial staff at PA Media has taken another step forward.
The union’s application to negotiate in an organised way on important issues like pay moved to the next stage following a ruling by the Central Arbitration Committee, the independent body responsible for determining union recognition.
It followed a meeting in March with the CAC’s panel, attended by union representatives, about a decision on who is able to become part of the overall PA bargaining unit.
As a result of the evidence put forward by the NUJ the committee decided to allow the inclusion of PA Photos employees and the CAC said it had decided that "the appropriate bargaining unit is editorial roles which ultimately report to the Editor in Chief.”
It decided not to agree to the NUJ’s submission to include deputy managers but concluded: “We considered that (save for the Deputies…) the bargaining unit put forward by the Union was the most appropriate bargaining unit. The unit includes the entire editorial/content department, which is a distinct group within the Employer’s organisation save for Managers, Deputies…and employees of the Irish and Australian department whom we are told work in different locations and have different contracts of employment.”
Now the bargaining unit has been finalised, the next step in the process is for the CAC's panel to make some checks on the application - for example confirming that 10% of the bargaining unit are NUJ members - as the unit's composition is different from that initially proposed.
In January the campaigning efforts by PA chapel reps for collective power were given a boost after the CAC recognised there is likely to be majority support among PA editorial staff for NUJ recognition.