EFJ Conference, Brussels November 1999
Summary of Recommendations
The following concrete actions & recommendations were agreed. EFJ/IFJ member unions should:
- contact their government to convince the EU not to compromise on Public Service Broadcasting or on Authors' Rights at the World Trade Organisaton talks in Seattle and thereafter;
- pay close attention to the implementation of the part-time work and fixed-term contract directives into national legislation;
- look for evidence of anti-competitive practices by the publishers and producers in their dealings with us;
- tackle the question of freelances employing other freelances;
- encourage co-operation between freelances and staff journalists, exchange information about each others' working conditions;
- look at formal representational rôles for freelances, particularly in larger media organisations so that their voice can be heard from Day One and not as an afterthought;
- provide training for staff representatives in dealing with freelance issues; and
- offer training courses in negotiation and demanding professional remuneration, to freelances in particular.
In addition:
- FREG should continue to work on definitions of Freelance categories; and
- The EFJ should work with other industry union federations (media/entertainment international MEI, musicians' international FIM, actors' international FIA) on the question of representing freelance interests within the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
Report by
Ros Bayley
