The Institute of Journalists will this month make another appeal to join the International Federation of Journalists.
In the past the IoJ has been turned down and has blamed the NUJ for campaigning against its membership.
The block on the IoJ means its members cannot get international press cards administered by the IFJ.
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In a submission to be considered by the IFJ congress in Athens later this month, the IoJ’s Mary Tomlinson says: “My colleagues and I, who work happily with those from any union and help each other when working in the field, decided enough was enough and started to ask why this was happening.”
Tomlinson said she had been negotiating for two years with IFJ general secretary Aidan White, with the full backing of the IoJ Council, to try to gain membership of the federation.
In the submission, Tomlinson denies claims that the IoJ does not show solidarity with other unions: “This is patently untrue. For more than 120 years the IoJ has fought to defend the rights of all journalists, to help journalists in trouble and to promote the profession of journalism.”
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Tomlinson also claims many countries have more than one journalists’ union. “A preference of the NUJ for single representation is no reason to damage the implicit human rights of our members to participate in the advantages of membership of the IFJ.”
She will argue the IoJ’s case at the congress, which begins on 24 May
By Jon Slattery
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