Protesters stand by at a vandalised bus stop during a student demonstration against university tuition fees in central London, Britain, 24 November 2010. Lines of police are holding back thousands of student protesters in central London, in a wave of protests against higher tuition fees and university budget cuts. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA.

6pm, Tuesday 31 May 2016.
The Studio, The London Welsh Centre, 157-163 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8UE.

Respected press photographer and branch member Facundo Arrizabalaga will talk about his best images in the context of his personal journey.

Facundo was born in Argentina and studied law before discovering photography at the age of 30. After studying photojournalism here in London he worked as a freelance news photographer and joined the European Pressphoto Agency in 2012.

He won the British Journal of Photography 2011 Award for Single Image. His work has been recognised by the Press Photographer’s Year Awards and UK Picture Editors Guild.

6pm, Tuesday 26 April 2016.
Room A, London Welsh Centre, 157-163 Gray’s Inn Road London, WC1X 8UE.

At this month’s meeting human rights lawyer Jules Carey and NUJ legal officer Roy Mincoff will give a talk on the Investigatory Powers Bill and the implications for lens based journalism. Both will speak for around 15 minutes and then we will have 30 minutes for questions.

NUJ Delegate Meeting (DM 2016) Southport

Our delegates will give a report on the Delegate Meeting in the business part of the meeting.

Election of Union Learning Representative

The Union Learning Representative post is still vacant and will be on the agenda in the business part of the meeting.

Since 2006 I have sued the Metropolitan Police twice and it’s not been an easy process. It is time consuming, expensive and at times exhausting. In 2006 I was assaulted by Metropolitan Police officers when I was reporting on a protest in Parliament Square. I was taken to St Thomas’ hospital by ambulance and could not work for month. When the case settled two years later in 2008 my solicitor, Chez Cotton said:

This was an extremely unpleasant incident. Neither the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police or his officers has any legal power, moral responsibility or political responsibility to prevent or restrict what the media record. Mr Vallée is a well-respected photojournalist, lawfully present to photograph a political protest outside parliament, yet he was brutally prevented from doing so by the police. It is right that Mr Vallée has received an apology, an out of court settlement and that his legal costs will be met by the police.

In late 2008 video journalist Jason Parkinson and I were unlawfully stopped by Metropolitan Police officers from reporting on a protest outside the Greek Embassy. This case settled early this year and our solicitor, Chez Cotton once again, said:

The media play a critical role in recording civil unrest, political events, including protests and demonstrations and, where it arises, police wrong doing. It is of grave concern that an armed, diplomatic officer of the Metropolitan Police Force felt it was appropriate to call these journalists ‘scum’ and stop them from working and was happy to do so in full knowledge that he was being filmed. My clients were physically prevented from reporting on protest and political unrest of international importance.

These are just two of the many cases that journalists – with support from the NUJ – have taken on to defend media freedom. For many the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) route is a non-starter. Many photographers have found the IPCC to be far from independent and highly bureaucratic.

Bottom line, when the police act outside the law and attack human rights and media freedoms by physically attacking media workers then the police should be held to account for such actions. It seems that Sir Paul Stephenson has other ideas.

Is this about cost-cutting in the short term or is it a more calculated strategy to give his officers a freer hand when policing the public reaction to the political and economic shockwaves of the coalition governments austerity measures. And to remove those that will give that movement the oxygen of publicity?

A journalist at all times upholds and defends the principle of media freedom, the right of freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed.

– NUJ Code of Conduct

The February meeting of the London Photographers’ Branch agreed to create the position of Legal Rep. It was agreed that the person elected to this position would support Branch members who have had a ‘negative encounter’ with the police and to coordinate the Branch’s relationship with the police.

I’m proud that Branch members have elected me to this position. The Legal Rep’s job is to support members to uphold and defend press freedom, in hindsight maybe the Branch should of named the position ‘Press Freedom Rep’.

Just to be clear the Legal Rep does not give legal advice, that is the job of the NUJ Legal Officer Roy Mincoff and the specialist lawyers that the union uses. It is the job of the Legal Rep to get you into a meeting with the most appropriate national officer or lawyer to help you.

So what kind of situations does the Legal Rep support members with?

A Branch member was stopped & searched three times in 45 minutes by police whilst covering a protest in London; branch members were forcibly removed and stopped by police from covering an EDL protest in Bradford; a branch member was forced to delete pictures under the threat of arrest in east London; branch members have been violently assaulted by police officers when working and a branch member has been threatened with a warrant by police to seize pictures of a political protest.

These are some of the real and current situations that Branch members have had to face when working, a barometer of the current political situation in the context of press and media freedom today.

In the majority of cases I have been one of the first people in the branch that members have contacted when things go wrong with the police. One of the first things is to listen to find out what the member needs. To give the member an idea of some of the options that are available to them. This could be highlighting the issue in the media, making a complaint to the police or IPCC or take legal action – sometimes all three!

Practically, this involves time, emails, phone calls and meetings to get the Branch member the best support the union can give them.

Currently the Branch does not have any formal contact with the Metropolitan Police. The Branch has successfully gained the agreement of NUJ Freelance Officer John Toner to report to the Branch on the meetings he attends, along with other organisations that represent photographers, with the police.

Meetings with the police are problematic at best, sharing a cup of tea with senior officers is seen by many as no more then a public relations exercise on behalf the police. The lack of any real concrete and lasting change in the behaviour of frontline officers gives weight to this view.

A trade union of photographers and journalists – a freedom of expression organisation – has to be cautious about such contact with a section of the state. Especially when it’s our members job to report on the actions of the police to the wider public. Transparency is the key and full and open records of any such meetings is vital for a democratic member lead organisation like ours.

English Defence League

This Branch condemns the attacks on media workers by supporters of the far right English Defence League (EDL) and other far right groups.
Racism, violence and criminal damage are the hallmarks of EDL protests across Britain. NUJ members have exposed the true nature and character of the EDL.

EDL supporters have responded by targeting media workers with intimidation, threats and violence.
This Branch agrees to supports the media campaign Expose the BNP with a donation of £20.
Proposed by Jason Parkinson.

BA Strike

This Branch supports the right to strike – a right that is enshrined by international treaties.
The 1948 International Labour Organisation’s convention on the right to organise and bargain collectively, the Council of Europe’s social charter of 1961 and the 1966 UN covenant on economic, social and cultural rights all support this right.

This Branch agrees to send a message of support to Unite British Airways cabin crews who are taking industrial action to defend their jobs and conditions against a bullying and anti-union management.
Proposed by John Harris.

Digital Economy Bill

This Branch backs the Stop 43 campaign to knock Clause 43 out of the Digital Economy Bill, condemns this government’s attempt, in its last days, to force this highly controversial measure through the House of Commons without any debate, and calls on the next to introduce Moral Rights in full for all creators.
Proposed by Andrew Wiard

The Journalist Magazine.

This branch congratulates the new editor of The Journalist on her appointment but views with concern her sourcing of images from businesses such as Getty and iStock whose practices work against the interest of all photographers and in particular the interests of NUJ photographers.

This branch calls on the editor to meet with representatives of the London Photographers’ Branch at the earliest opportunity to discuss how the Journalist can develop a policy for the use of photographs that recognises the skill, experience and talents of NUJ members and is more supportive towards them.
Proposed by David Hoffman.

The Guardian

This Branch notes the difficult trading conditions The Guardian and we all face. We also note that the timely sale of 49.9% of TMG not only showed foresight of these difficult trading conditions and helped boosted the groups profits before tax from £97.7m (2007) to £306.4m (2008) but also that the GMG chair in the 2009 Annual report pointed to the “many other positives: we have net cash rather than net debt; we have a number of sound long-term investments; our businesses continue to be bold and innovative; our people are among the very best in the industry; and the Guardian’s superb journalism is reaching an expanding global audience through the growth of its website”.

Further we note that the subsequent 2009 loss of £89.8m according to the Chair “only gives only a partial view of our financial position and health..” the loss being made up entirely of losses on forward exchange contracts, on interest rate swaps and debt, and impairment of goodwill and intangibles.

We also note that the paper has already achieved very great cost savings through the cheap subscription deals offered by a some of the larger agencies e.g. Getty and Alamy.

However, it is a misnomer to describe the pictures sourced from individual freelances and the smaller agencies and picture libraries as “stock” in that these pictures are typically not ubiquitous generalisable commodity pictures but real, recent and relevant to the issues of the day with which the paper is concerned and are therefore precisely the diverse and original content that helps distinguish The Guardian from the competition. This content is crucial if the company is to realise its expressed aim of becoming “the world voice of liberal public opinion”. To this end we would ask that no such cuts in reproduction or commission fees are made.
Proposed by John Harris.

Any further motions to the branch should be sent to the Branch secretary prior to the meeting.