Get set for 6 June

New employment rights are now in force, and the final sections are due on 6 June. National Organiser
Jeremy Dear looks at how they will work

The final parts of the Employment Relations Act will come into force on 6 June, giving workers a range of new rights at work. Chief among these is the right to trade union recognition. The new law gives a right to automatic recognition where more than 50% of workers in an agreed bargaining unit are members of a union.

For us, that means if we have more than half of all editorial staff in membership then we will able to apply for statutory recognition. If we do not meet the 50% criterion but we have more than 10% membership, we can trigger a ballot for recognition under the new law. To succeed, we would have to secure a majority in the vote and at least 40% of those eligible to vote.

A successful recognition claim or ballot victory will give us the right to negotiate on pay, hours and holidays with consultation rights on training and other matters.

If the employer refuses to consider the application or to sanction a ballot within 10 days, the union can take its case to the Central Arbitration Committee. The CAC will rule on the issue and either order a ballot or give the union automatic recognition.

However, there are dangers. If we were to lose a ballot we could not apply for recognition again for three years. Instead of companies and unions becoming tied up in statutory procedures, the government is encouraging voluntary agreements for recognition.

Already, many media employers have opened talks with the union. We would encourage Chapels to adopt this approach, but also to be prepared to use the new law if necessary. What the law means in reality is an opportunity for us to begin to turn the tide and provide an independent voice for journalists.

At every media workplace where derecognition has taken place I have dealt with cases where journalists have complained that if only they had had a means to address problems earlier they would not have escalated.

They say that if they had had a means of raising a grievance or of raising concerns over stress without worrying about their job security they would have been much happier. But for too many people these most basic of rights are denied. That's why no one is listening to staff about their concerns over stress and working hours.

In order to achieve the 50%-plus-one necessary, the union has launched a major recruitment campaign. We are asking union members at each workplace to supply us with lists of editorial staff so we can send recruitment letters. We have been following up such approaches with meetings and leafleting campaigns.

The new law will also force a number of companies to update their disciplinary and grievance procedures, and union members and chapels should be making sure all policies conform with requirements of the ERA.

ACAS advises that, among other things, all such procedures should be non-discriminatory, provide for matters to be dealt with quickly and within specified time limits, address the issue of confidentiality, provide a right of appeal and inform workers of their right to be accompanied.

Twelve months ago we were saying change is gonna come. It's here. Let's be part of it.

For more information about any of the provisions of the Employment Relations Act contact Jeremy Dear on 020 7843 3709, or at jeremyd@nuj.org.uk

Why the Cambridge Two matter to journalists

Ruth Wyner and John Brock are now serving long prison sentences for, among other things, refusing to become police informers.

The two, the director and manager respectively of the Wintercomfort Day Centre in south Cambridgeshire, were convicted of "knowingly permitting or suffering the supply of a class A drug".

Wyner was sent to jail for five years and Brock for four. Throughout the trial, both pleaded that they did not know the true scale of drug trading at the centre. Critically, they refused to give the names of suspected drug dealers to the police, arguing that this would undermine the principle of client confidentiality that was an important element of their work with homeless people.

Wyner and Brock are highly respected workers in the field of homelessness, with 30 years' experience between them. They were never accused of drug dealing themselves.

A campaign has been set up to free them, and the Magazine Branch has agreed to let a spokesperson address our May meeting.

Know your rights

Many of the provisions of the Fairness at Work law are already in force, such as the right to three months unpaid parental leave in the first five years. The most crucial parts have yet to be made effective.

Each one requires a ministerial executive order so the timetable has been far more drawn out than we would have wished.

By 6 June:

Right to take part in an official strike

Any worker who is sacked for taking part in an official strike during the first eight weeks of the strike will automatically have a claim for unfair dismissal, irrespective of how long they have worked at the company.

By 6 June:

Right to union recognition for collective bargaining

The big one. The commission that will arbitrate when employers and unions cannot agree on which employees should be balloted on union recognition for a 'bargaining unit' is being staffed up at the moment. A code of practice on unions' rights to physical access to workplaces has already been agreed, as has a model 'recognition procedure'.

By September:

Right to be represented at disciplinary hearings

All workers have the right to be accompanied at disciplinary or grievance meetings by an 'accredited' union representative, irrespective of whether the employer recognises the union for bargaining purposes.

Because unions will technically be liable for the advice they give, the representative must be trained - as the NUJ endeavours to do with all chapel and branch officers anyway. So bosses will not be able to claim that only full-time officials are 'accredited' in order to refuse to meet workplace union reps.

Hopefully never:

'Right' to be discriminated against as union members

This is one clause we hope will never be activated. A late Conservative amendment to the Bill in the Lords would allow employers to give pay rises to non-union members only, as this would be treated as a discretionary, positive decision, rather than a discriminatory, negative decision (!).

Even if a minister wanted to activate this clause with an executive order, the order would have to lie before Parliament for 28 days so we would have the chance to campaign against it.