A war of attrition..

I almost don't know what day it is and am feeling the effects of the lack of daylight thanks to some more marathon negotiating sessions at ACAS with The Guardian.

Tuesday morning I met early with the General Secretaries of the Federation of Entertainment Unions - Bectu, Musicians' Union, Equity - to discuss our forthcoming campaign plans and co-ordinating the work of our Parliamentary Groups.

Then it was on to ACAS for 11am and a whopping 14 hours of talks (calories consumed in the form of chocolate - 26,000,000 - or thereabouts). I'm still not allowed to say how talks are going - but they are still going on which is something. Left ACAS at 1am with an unwelcome invitation to return again on Wednesday.

This morning I did an interview for a college radio station about new media and the NUJ's work to protect terms and conditions for journalists working in the sector.

A quick meet up with the rest of the negotiating team in The Guardian dispute to review the latest letter from management before meeting the largest Chapel Committee in the smallest room possible. It was cozy - and productive - except they suggested we should go back to ACAS to seek some improvements in the current offer. No time to waste - go and grab a (very) strong coffee and a cab across to ACAs to resume talks. Both sides and the ACAS conciliator appear to have lost the will to carry on deep in to the night. So we present our case and current concerns and adjourn for the evening.

Now it's back to hundreds of emails (which in my dreams had vanished but which actually are just sitting waiting for me like an unwelcome stalker) and some healthy food.