The UK's National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has achieved formal recognition for new media workers at AOL UK - the first major victory for the union's fledgling new media sector.Recognition means that the NUJ will formally represent employees during disputes or negotiations on pay, working conditions and other employment issues.
Around 54 per cent of AOL's UK workers are union members. The NUJ has been negotiating formal recognition for more than two years and AOL is the first standalone new media company to recognise the union.
"The main issue with new media tends to be the instability of jobs," said Jenny Lennox, assistant organiser for new media at the NUJ.
"In December 2004, AOL announced a reorganisation and it wasn't the first time staff had had concerns about their jobs. They have felt quite vulnerable, so the whole deal about recognition was to make them feel safer in their jobs and have better redundancy terms."
The NUJ's new media sector was launched last year to provide support for the growing number of journalists, producers and media staff working online and with digital media.
In 2001 AOL merged with US media giant Time Warner, which was accused of rights-grabbing by US freelancers after the introduction of a controversial new contract.
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