Simon Jones: World in union

GOC-registered optometrists and dispensing opticians have got themselves a union, thanks to the Ophthalmic Practitioners Group (OPG).

Union status has long been an aim of the OPG, but the roadmap to achieving that hasn’t always been simple, so creating an optometry branch within the long-established union Prospect seems like a sensible move.

Trade unions are traditionally a divisive subject, but as a member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), it will be no surprise for you to learn that I think the creation of the OPG’s union will fundamentally be a good thing for the profession. The NUJ has been incredibly helpful for me in the past, with collective bargaining power securing improved terms for employees on editorial contracts within a company and it was a great resource when Optician went through its change of ownership in 2015. However, I have also worked for a publisher that effectively refuses to acknowledge the existence of the NUJ.