Jobs go at the union too
PAUL McLAUGHLIN, the NUJ’s National Broadcasting Organiser, left his job under a voluntary redundancy arrangement on April 24.
The union is shedding four posts in anticipation of a big drop in income as job losses sweep through the industry — but they should all be voluntary. General Secretary Jeremy Dear said the union had “not even considered compulsory redundancies”.
The union needs to save £500,000 a year, he said, with 40 per cent of this coming from staff cuts. Two administration jobs will be cut, another vacant post will not be filled, and a staff member in the Dublin office is taking redundancy.
Paul McLaughlin, who joined the staff as an assistant organiser in 1999, said: “It has been a privilege to work for the NUJ and it is an organisation I have been very proud to have been a part of.”
He has been be replaced by Sue Harris, formerly national organiser for magazines, books and public relations. NUJ management is consulting the staff unions on jobs and on other cost-saving measures.
Savings made already include postponing the 2009 annual conference for six months and cutting the Journalist from ten to six issues a year, saving more than £90,000. The union will also to rent out one floor of its London HQ.
Jeremy Dear said the union expected a 2 per cent decline in its income over the next two years. “We are not immune to what is happening in the industry,” he added.