A joint review body with independent chairmen had been established, he said, and it would deliver the most comprehensive document of best practice in terms of the workplace.
The National Agreement, which includes the annual wage negotiation, has always been controversial but Johnson admitted that finding a suitable alternative would not be easy. Its going to be unbelievably bloody, he said.
Johnson also used the AGM to announce the formation of the Print Education Forum (PEF), which would tackle the nightmare problem of training within the industry.
A shadow PEF board has been set up with eight people already committed, including representatives from St Ives, Polestar and TJ International. A launch conference is planned for October. St Ives' inclusion on the shadow board is extremely significant, as the group is UK print's most notable non-member of the BPIF.
An October launch is also planned for the BPIFs new educational scholarships for individuals aged between 18 and 30 who want to pursue a career in print.
With administration handled by the Printers Charitable Corporation, around eight or nine awards of 2,500 will be made every year. Funding is in place for the first 10 years but the federation will be looking for additional support thereafter.
The AGM also marked the formal announcement of the federations greatly improved annual results. A 12,000 surplus was achieved in the year to 31 March 2003, a 773,000 improvement on 2002.
Ken Iddon of NB Colour Print was formally invested as the president of the federation taking over from the Baird Groups Peter Yates. Polestars Chris Pavlosky takes over as vice president.
Story by Lauretta Roberts
