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EFJ Activity Report-Steering Committee Report 2004-2007 23.03.2007.
Introduction
The following outline reflects the activities of the EFJ Steering Committee, the expert groups and the EFJ secretariat during the last General Meeting period, however with a main focus on the last year. At each Annual Meeting a yearly activity report has been presented to the delegates.
The Steering Committee faced a large work-load with many challenges on both social and professional issues. There has been an increased dialogue with Commission officials on quality and press freedom related issues; the Cartoons Crisis in 2006 had a great impact on journalism and intercultural dialogue, protection of sources have been under attack in many European countries. The revision of the Television without Directive has been a priority for the Steering Committee and its Broadcasting Expert Group. But above all, journalists and their unions have faced an unprecedented attack on long established social and trade union rights. Authors’ rights and freelance rights have been at the centre of this debate. In particular young people and newcomers to the profession have become victims. The EFJ has adopted a freelance charter with a set of minimum rights to be acknowledged by the industry.
At the same time the European Union agenda puts an emphasis on a “flexible” workforce. This view was reinforced in the autumn of 2006 with the release of a European Commission Green Paper on labour law, a document that embraces the “flexible labour” philosophy in full and reveals how the European Union has become detached from its original attachment to decent work based upon sound and secure employment rights. Now there is apparent acceptance of fragmentation of the labour force, of shifting responsibility for social and welfare provision from the employer to the employee, and encouragement for the emergence of an out-sourced job market. The Steering Committee at its Helsinki meeting in October had a major debate with the Finnish Presidency on the issue.
The Green Paper, which reveals how power in the workplace is now heavily tilted in favour of employers, reads like a funeral oration for the European social model, but it does open the door to a public debate about employment policy. The Steering Committee has considered this debate as a major priority for the up-coming period.
The EFJ carried out several seminars on trade union issues, all of which had support from the European Commission. (Tallinn, Bratislava, Lisbon, Cyprus, Vilnius; see below) and were very useful occasions for policy discussions, creation of networks and practical exchange of good practice.
Secretariat
There have been some changes in the EFJ Secretariat. After her maternity leave in 2005, Renate Schroeder has slightly further reduced her working hours from 80% to 75% and started to share the position of European Director with Marc Gruber now working 75% for the EFJ as well. Pamela Moriniere has been working for the EFJ on Authors’ Rights and gender issues and is replaced by Céline Simonin, EFJ Authors’ Rights Assistant, while for a year on training leave in Australia. Bernard Vanmuysewinkel, Administrative Officer, continues to work 50% for the EFJ. Aidan White is General Secretary of the IFJ and EFJ. The EFJ office is part of the IFJ Headquarters in Brussels.
The EFJ mourned its former EFJ Chair Gustl Glattfelder who passed away in May 2005. His family relayed Gustl’s express wishes, in keeping with his commitment to solidarity and internationalism, to donate any practical expressions of sympathy to the IFJ International Safety Fund.
Labour Rights
A major event in 2006 was the conference ‘Strengthening Journalists’ Unions and Social Dialogue. Let’s Organise’ organised in Vilnius on December 1-2, 2006.
Best practice in national recruitment campaigns and in negotiation strategies, gender and freelance mainstreaming as well as the European Commission Green Paper on Labour Law were the main themes discussed
At the outset an EFJ survey on recruitment and bargaining based on 22 responses by EFJ member unions was presented to give an overview about union membership criteria, membership profiles, recruitment campaigns and collective agreements. A debate followed on the question whether journalists working as spokespersons and in public relations are eligible for union membership. National member unions have different approaches on this issue. Further, the use of local agreements as a supplement to national agreements was discussed, and the need to find new strategies, when negotiations are blocked. Examples from the UK and from Finland regarding recruitment gave new impetus and ideas regarding organising membership to young journalists, freelances and other related categories.
A so-called Vilnius package is being prepared summarizing the main results and giving practical guidelines to unions on all these issues.
European Works Councils: The EFJ has organised a seminar on European Works Councils in the Media to take place in Sofia on 20-21 April. The seminar, which is supported by the EU and had been prepared by the EFJ secretariat in cooperation with members of the Labour Rights Expert Groups, a representative from UNI Graphical and national experts on EWCs will be an occasion to do an up-date and an evaluation on existing EWC and an EFJ strategy how to proceed in this difficult but important area (See chair’s Labour Right Expert Group report).
Collective Bargaining: Collective bargaining was under attack in the past years, even in countries with a long established tradition of collective agreements such as Italy. The EFJ, through its Labour Rights Expert Group, organised meetings and press conferences on specific cases such as Switzerland in 2005 and Italy in 2006. A meeting in coordination of unions’ activities for the defence of existing collective agreements took place in Berlin in November 2005 at the occasion of the meeting of the EFJ Steering Committee (See also chair’s Labour Rights Expert Group report).
Social Dialogue: In the audiovisual sector, employers’ organisations including the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Commercial Television Association (ACT), Independent Producers’ Association agreed with the unions representing the Audiovisual sector, UNI-MEI, EFJ, International Musicians’ Federation (FIM) and the International Actors Federation (FIA) to officially start social dialogue at European level. The Social Partners agreed at informal level to discuss health and safety; equal opportunities, enlargement issues and training.
The EFJ welcomed a joint declaration adopted at a conference in Warsaw on 5-7 May 2005 by both sides of the audiovisual industry in Europe, which reaffirms that social dialogue “is important in all matters related to workforce” and that both parties are “committed to growth ensuring vitality and quality of the sector”. It also reminds the freedom of association and negotiation as ratified under ILO Conventions and it calls on EU countries to support social dialogue.
Within the framework of the Social Dialogue an informal meeting of the Social Partners on the Green Paper on Labour Law took place with a frank discussion whether to extend workers’ rights to freelances and/or to economically dependent workers.
http://www.ifj-europe.org/default.asp?Index=3906&Language=EN
Freelance Rights
The Freelance Expert Group drafted a freelance charter, which was adopted at the last Annual Meeting in 2006. This charter provides a tool for lobbying at national and European level. It has been designed and printed in form of a postcard to be launched at this year’s General Meeting and at the IFJ Congress.
http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=3844&Language=EN)
The FREG in cooperation with labour law officers had a meeting focusing on the EFJ response to the EC Green Paper on Labour Law, in which it proposed a ‘floor of rights’ for all workers independent of their form of contract. It has contributed to the EFJ submission to the Green Paper.
The FREG drafted a freelance strategy including best practice regarding organising freelances within journalists unions and special services for them for member unions, which was circulated to member unions in November 2006.
The FREG also created some stronger links with freelance representatives from the Balkan region. It participated in a seminar in Belgrade and invited the Freelance coordinator of the Balkan region. The discussion also covered new rules by Croatian media employers, including those owned by the German WAZ and the Austrian Styria Media Group, where staff journalists are moved to temporary agencies in order to circumvent the established collective agreements. Unfortunately journalists sign the contracts out of fear that they will be dismissed if they refuse.
The FREG noted the IFJ report on the “Changing Nature of Work: A Global Survey” drafted by the media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the IFJ Australian member union, as a useful reference and lobbying material.
The Vilnius seminar was prepared in coordination with members of the FREG and the chair Heikki Jokinen outlined examples of how to organise freelances in new media or such areas outside of classical journalism. The debate at the meeting focused very much on the need to better connect between staff and freelances, share more information including salaries and remuneration, and organise common solidarity events. (See chairs’ report of the Freelance Expert Group).
Authors’ Rights
The EFJ with the support of the Authors’ Rights Expert Group and the Authors’ Rights Officer has closely followed European policy regarding authors’ rights. Both the phasing out of levies and the introduction of the work-for-hire rule have been avoided. During recent meetings with EC officials the EFJ was able to explain its views on journalists’ authors’ rights and AREG has been invited to come forward with suggestions and to be part of a sustained dialogue with other stakeholders. The EFJ also closely followed national legislations (providing support to national unions when required) and negotiations at WIPO. A key instrument for these various lobbying actions is the pamphlet ‘Authors Rights – Copyright in a Democratic Society’, which has been made available in four languages so far.
Cooperation has been enhanced between the EFJ and IFRRO (the chair of AREG, Anne Louise Schelin, was re-elected to the IFRRO board for representing Creators’ Associate Members), as well as with other Creators organizations (the Brussels Resolution, a joint statement on the European agenda, was adopted in September 2006; the EFJ joined the Culture First! Coalition, which successfully lobbied against the phasing out of levies).
In 2006 the EFJ with the support of the AREG supported a German media boycott of Robbie Williams’ concerts after the singer banned some photographers from his shows and issued restrictions denying other photographers rights over their work. (See report by the chair of the AREG).
Media Policy and Democracy
Protection of Sources
In this General Meeting period there have been major setbacks on freedom of information and protection of sources. During 2006 the European Federation of Journalists complained to the European Commission and the European Parliament about several illegal tappings of journalists’ phones in the Netherlands and elsewhere, about the placing of spies in the newsrooms of German media and about the prosecution of journalists in Denmark and in the Netherlands because they wrote stories that were in the public interest, but that embarrassed the governments.
Denmark: http://www.ifj-europe.org/default.asp?Index=4430&Language=EN
The Netherlands: http://www.ifj-europe.org/default.asp?Index=4426&Language=EN
http://www.ifj-europe.org/default.asp?Index=4419&Language=EN
The EFJ sent a letter to the European Union demanding an investigation to find out if there is systematic spying on journalists by security officials across the European Union. In a response to this letter Commissioner Franco Frattini, Vice President of the European Commission and responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, promised that these cases would be investigated by his services.
The EFJ also pressed for action on the case of Hans Martin Tillack, the German journalist who was subject to a police raid in Belgium more than two years ago and had boxes of materials including notebooks and files taken away by police. The case in front of the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg was lost.
Following an EFJ resolution in 2006 on EU Data Retention, which could harm free press, the EFJ warned Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini that the EU's new data retention directive risks helping governments’ snoop on reporters’ contacts in the name of combating terror. The directive, passed in February 2006 with implementation tabled for late 2007, obliges EU governments to store information, who emailed who and who browsed which website for at least six months, on who called who.
Commissioner Frattini promised that access to the new data retention tools will be strictly limited to officials such as public prosecutors. EFJ member unions were asked to contact their governments and to lobby for the defence of journalists in the implementation process at national level. This can be made either by making sure that the EU directive will be compatible with existing legislation on protection of sources, or in absence of specific legislation, by asking for exemptions for journalists to the access to electronic data in the name of press and media freedom.
In September 2006 the Intergroup for Press, Communication and Freedom of the European Parliament organised a meeting about protection of sources in Europe and some members committed to propose an EP resolution on this issue. Three EFJ representatives participated at this event (Benno Pöppelmann, DJV; Martine Simonis, AGJPB and Aidan White, EFJ/IFJ). A draft text has been submitted to the Head of the Intergroup and the formal proposal should be put forward during this year.
At the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2006, the Belgian association, the AGJPB/AJP, the EFJ and the University of Gent organised a day of study on protection of sources in Brussels. It was also the first anniversary of the implementation of the new Belgian law on protection of sources. Speakers were coming from various backgrounds such as lawyers, judges, police, academics and journalists. http://www.agjpb.be/ajp/
Alter –EU and Media Coalition: Reaching Out to Civil Society
On January 2006, the European Commission published a Green Paper on proposals for a European Transparency Initiative which is supposed to tackle the current lack of transparency and unaccountable power of lobbyists in Brussels. The EFJ drafted a submission to the consultation on the ETI Green Paper stressing the need for more transparency and regulations regarding reporting on lobbying, distribution of EU funds including the creation of a new independent watchdog agency to manage registration, reporting and sanctioning of lobbyists.
As part of a broader lobbying and advocacy strategy, the EFJ has been involved in the Alter-EU campaign (www.alter-eu.org/) for lobbying transparency and ethics in EU decision making. Following the setting-up of disclosure systems for the common agriculture policy funds across Europe, Alter-EU campaigns for disclosure of the pressure groups activities in Brussels.
The EFJ is also the leading organisation of the recently created Coalition for Media Freedom and Integrity. This coalition was initiated in mid 2006 in collaboration with civil society groups involved in media policies, such as Article 19, the Media Advocacy Programme of the Open Society Institute, the Human Rights Group of NGOs at the Council of Europe, More Colour in the Media and the European Women’s Lobby. The coalition agreed on a founding Declaration on Media and Democracy in Europe, which is the basis for a broader support for campaigning and advocacy work in Europe. The media coalition is aimed at becoming a joint platform for civil society on media policy and European media “watchdog”.
The Declaration on Media and Democracy is available on the EFJ website:
http://www.ifj-europe.org/default.asp?Index=4694&Language=EN and the online petition can be signed here: http://www.gopetition.com/online/11308.html
Broadcasting and Media Concentration
The EFJ Broadcasting Expert Group (BREG) was created in 2005. Most of the members were already involved in the Public Broadcasting for All Campaign of the IFJ. However, BREG dealt not just with public broadcasting institutions but with public service values and quality in general.
The activities have concentrated on lobbying, both at European level (revision of the “television without frontiers” directive, follow-up of social dialogue in the audiovisual sector, meetings with EU Officials) and at national level (BBC White Book and Charter, reforming of RAI, legal and professional developments in other countries such as Slovenia and Spain).
(See report of the chair of the BREG).
Relations with the European Institutions
European Parliament: The EFJ is in close contact with the Intergroup for Press, Communication and Freedom of the European Parliament. This Intergroup was founded in 2005 under the initiative of French MEP Jean-Marie Cavada and it currently gathers around 40 MEPs with media professional background. The group normally gathers every other month during the Plenary Session in Strasbourg. It debated on the review of the TWF Directive and the role of the various players of the media industry for the defence of pluralism and quality in the media.
The EFJ met with MEPs in charge of media policies, in particular with Ms. Hieronymi, the main rapporteur for the “TWF” Directive. Meetings and participation to public hearings also took place for the defence of authors’ rights and in the context of the report on the “Rome II” Treaty dealing with non-contractual obligations, which puts at risk journalists’ rights to defend themselves against accusations of defamation.
European Commission: The EFJ kept contact with DG Media and Information Society and in particular with the Media Task Force, DG Internal Market regarding authors’ rights, DG Security, Freedom and Justice on media freedom issues, especially following the cartoons crisis as well as the frequent attacks on journalist’ sources. Several meetings were also held with Commissioner Wallström, responsible for the communication policy. The EFJ in cooperation with the Freelance Expert Group had meetings with senior officials preparing the Green paper on labour law. The AREG had a meeting with the Head of the Copyright division of the Internal Market DG in November 2006.
Council of Europe: Since the recognition of the EFJ as an observer to Council of Europe Steering Committee on Mass Media (CDMM), the former chair Gustl Glattfelder used to participate on behalf of the EFJ in the meetings of the CDMM, its groups of specialists as well as at the European Audiovisual Observatory. This role is now primarily fulfilled by EFJ Vice-Chair Philippe Leruth and Steering Committee member Michael Klehm. The latest activities include a “Draft Declaration on the potential risks of media concentration to democracy” to be transmitted it to the assembly for approval and joint activities with the European Commission against racism and Intolerance (ECRI) to defend self-regulation in the context of the battle against racism and intolerance.
EFJ Meetings in the General Meeting period
|
Meetings |
Date/place |
Number participants |
Women |
|
2004 |
|
|
|
|
General Meeting |
4-5/5 Thessaloniki |
68 |
22 |
|
East meets West: Social Dialogue in the Media Sector |
5-6/11Tallinn |
44 |
22 |
|
2005 |
|
|
|
|
Annual Meeting |
3-4/5 Bilbao |
70 |
20 |
|
Freelance Conference |
23-24/9 Bratislava |
Povratak
|
 |
|
|
|
| 
