In the last year, talk of enforced redundancy and industrial action has been replaced by a more measured conversation about how we can all best survive and prosper in an industry that continues to change at a breathtaking rate.
For the NUJ and senior management, there is clearly more that unites us than divides us. We all accept that Guardian Media Group's (GMG) existence depends on the quality of its journalism. And there is no argument about the need to embrace the digital age. However, evolution generally works better than revolution and, despite greatly exaggerated reports of its death, print remains a key part of the future for both the Guardian and the Observer.
Pride
The Snowden story should be a source of immense pride for everyone who works here. However, those who believe that governments can justify spying on their own citizens in the name of national security didn't see it that way. The editor-in-chief came under intense pressure when he had to go before the Home Affairs Select Committee – and the chapel wanted him to know he had the full backing of his journalists when he underwent the McCarthyite inquisition in December. We wanted the members of the Select Committee to know as well, and lobbied them all individually.
There are other issues that concern journalists – such as press regulation – where it would benefit all concerned if the NUJ and GMG could march in step. Training of young journalists is another area where we could happily work together. It is to be hoped the new spirit of co-operation can be extended into as many areas as possible.
Pay
On a more workaday level, it was possible to conclude the long-running audit of journalists' pay once the threat of compulsory redundancies had been removed. As a result, more than 100 NUJ members benefited from salary increases. More importantly, perhaps, the audit has led to a new range of minimum salaries for all jobs that will go up in line with collectively negotiated increases – thereby preventing the huge discrepancies that come about when existing staff see their income rise each year and new starters are brought in at a much lower level. As an exercise in industrial relations, the pay audit demonstrated that co-operation is clearly more productive than confrontation.
It took too long for both management and chapel to bury their suspicions of the other's motives and get down to the complicated task of comparing roles and salaries across a combined operation that incorporated two newspapers and a website – each with a distinctive pay structure of its own. When we did, it was generally agreed that it would be impossible to right all the wrongs instantly, and that we had to start by ensuring that things didn't get any worse; rectify as many anomalies as possible – and then work to bring about the total fairness and transparency that is required of a company which seeks to live its values. A new Pay Equity Group (PEG), consisting of management and chapel representatives, now has the task of picking up that particular baton.
The patient and informed contribution of the independent advisers who were there throughout the pay audit was a huge help in achieving the results that we did. Happily, their expertise will be available to PEG as well.
Contentious
Boardroom pay remains a contentious issue. The NUJ wants to see full employee representation on the committee which decides executive remuneration. As a stepping stone to that, we have the Remuneration Committee Information and Consultative Forum (RCICF). It remains to be seen whether we, as a chapel, wish to continue to participate in this particular exercise. Judging by the decision to award GMG chief executive Andrew Miller a £1.4m top-up following the sale of the company's stake in Trader Media Group, it appears our views on a boardroom bonus culture continue to fall on deaf ears.
By all means reward people for the work they do. But we must ensure those rewards are based on the understanding that we are all in this together. Any company that hopes to be regarded as a progressive employer has to understand that its staff simply will not tolerate executive bonuses based on opaque targets and should, instead, be working towards a salary structure where there is a direct link between what people are paid throughout the organisation. An agreed ratio between pay rates at the top and bottom would be a good start.
Agenda
There is always more to be done, of course. Top of the chapel's agenda this year is to ensure that all those who work as journalists are covered by the NUJ house agreement, no matter which department they are in or what their job title happens to be. We will also be making the case for reduced casualisation; less demanding workloads and better opportunities for career development.
No doubt these discussions will reflect the less combative environment we have created, and will hopefully be more fruitful as a result. Winston Churchill was right about one thing, at least - to jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.
•Brian Williams is the joint FoC of the Guardian and Observer NUJ chapel.
