{"id":786,"date":"2015-12-18T09:15:15","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T09:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/?p=786"},"modified":"2021-06-25T13:55:28","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T13:55:28","slug":"welcome-news-unions-agreement-with-global-broadcaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/?p=786","title":{"rendered":"Welcome news: unions’ agreement with global broadcaster"},"content":{"rendered":"
The pumping handshake before a roomful of international representatives appeared enthusiastic.\u00a0 Flashlights popped and applause rippled around Geneva\u2019s Press club.\u00a0 Jim Boumelha, president of the International Union of Journalists<\/a> and Mostefa Souaq, executive director of the Al Jazeera Media Network<\/a> exuded satisfaction at a negotiation concluded (they are pictured above).<\/div>\n
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On the table before of them, the drying ink of their signatures marked the conclusion of a \u2018framework agreement<\/a>\u2019 in which the Doha-headquartered broadcaster committed to media pluralism, human rights, journalistic professionalism as well as internationally accepted labour relations conventions.<\/div>\n
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Agreements of this kind – between multinational companies and international trades unions – are a relatively new concept; fewer than 100 exist worldwide, despite their being more than 80,000 international corporations.\u00a0 This is the first to be concluded with a global media employer.<\/div>\n
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The idea is that companies commit to respecting standards laid down by the International Labour Organisation in all the territories in which they operate.\u00a0 Clauses cover rights to negotiation, consultation or simple exchange of information between employers and workers on issues of common interest as well as to accepted notions of collective bargaining, dispute prevention and resolution, and respect for labour law.<\/div>\n
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Boumelha acknowledged that, for all the warm words, the test of this agreement will be what it delivers for journalists on the ground.\u00a0 AJMN recognises unions at its London centre, but not elsewhere.\u00a0 Adding to this list will be the priority for the IFJ\u2019s affiliates.<\/div>\n
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Such an agreement presents challenges and risks for both sides.<\/div>\n
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For the IFJ there is concern\u00a0that today\u2019s conviviality will not convert into workplace improvements.\u00a0 The need for visible benefits is all the more pressing given the low esteem in which Qatar is held by much of the international trades union movement. \u00a0 Some may accuse Boumelha of handing the broadcaster, which is funded by the Qatari state, an unhelpful fig leaf of respectability.\u00a0 The shocking death toll on Qatar\u2019s World Cup building sites has been the subject of widespread international condemnation.\u00a0 By the time Qatar hosts FIFA\u2019s four-yearly spectacle in 2022, some predictions suggest that 7,000 workers will have perished constructing football stadiums there.<\/div>\n
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For AJMN the agreement could increase higher costs at a time when dramatically falling oil prices have squeezed the income of its sponsor government.\u00a0 Souag hopes, however, that along with initiatives like the Declaration On Journalists\u2019 Safety and hosting the International Press Institute\u2019s World Congress this March, it will help cement his networks\u2019 reputation as a global news brand that deserves to stand alongside players like the BBC, AP and AFP.<\/div>\n
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Like much international work, the fanfare accorded to an agreement like this says more about its signatories\u2019 aspirations than it guarantees outcomes.\u00a0 As Souag and Boumelha relaxed and chatted about when their paths might cross again, the baton passed to union negotiators in Doha, Washington and London.\u00a0 Their efforts probably won\u2019t attract the photographers, but if today\u2019s hopes are to be converted to realities, it is them that will make it happen.<\/div>\n
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Photograph\u00a0\u00a9 Tim Dawson<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pumping handshake before a roomful of international representatives appeared enthusiastic.\u00a0 Flashlights popped and applause rippled around Geneva\u2019s Press club.\u00a0 Jim Boumelha, president of the International Union of Journalists and Mostefa Souaq, executive director of the Al Jazeera Media Network …<\/p>\n

Welcome news: unions’ agreement with global broadcaster<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1357,"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions\/1357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}