Media & entertainment unions in the Asia-Pacific step up cooperation
Union leaders of the media & entertainment sector of UNI Global Union met in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the UNI Apro Regional conference to review the work in the Asia-Pacific region. The unions are growing and so is the membership of media & entertainment unions with UNI Global Union. In 2015, the Television Workers Union of Pakistan and the Union of the Mass Communication Organisation of Thailand, MCOT have joined the group of 35 unions across the region.
Under the leadership of UNI Apro MEI President, Brother Nakamura of NIPPORO, Japan and UNI Apro Regional Secretary Christopher Ng, the UNI Apro MEI Committee adopted the work plan for 2016. The number one priority is organising including in the new areas of employment and among the free-lance workforce.
Bro. Nakamura said, "We have built in a short time a strong bond among the unions in this big region, now we want to step-up the cooperation to raise standards in the media & entertainment industries and grow the strength of unions and workers’ rights".
Organising projects have been selected and affiliates committed to peer-to-peer capacity building to grow union strength by trade union cooperation across borders. The continuation and deepening of cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, ABU. This regional employers' body brings together more than 200 broadcasters and the social dialogue with ABU is another important pillar of the sector's work in the region. The two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding on social dialogue in 2012 and developed joint activities in the area of health and safety. The unions also agreed to step up cooperation to promote public broadcasting and freedom of expression. The example of the suppression of independence of public broadcasting and freedom of expression in Korea was highlighted by the colleagues of the National Media Workers Union, NUMW. Their shocking report on the situation in Korea, underlines the need to fight for these basic rights also in democracies.
UNI Apro Regional Secretary, Christopher Ng said, "It is vital that the media unions in UNI help to grow the understanding among all unions and colleagues about the importance of media democracy and strong public service broadcasting. All groups in our societies including unions have a voice and the work of the UNI MEI sector globally and in the region is vital to campaign for this".