How about £35 fee for a commissioned photo, including all expenses, travel and post-production and obligatory full copyright assignment? Or, if it doesn't get printed, you get £16.50. This is what the Newspaper Society offers in its new contract, along with liability clauses that penalise the photographer should almost anything go wrong.

The Newspaper Society represents the interests of the UK's local newspaper publishers including Trinity Mirror Group and Guardian Newspapers Ltd (GNL). As such this contract sets the terms for hundreds of titles and websites across the UK.

Some choice extracts:

1.2 The Company may from time to time offer you assignments or work which ifyou choose to accept you agree to work to the Company's instructions. You are under no obligation to accept work and the Company is under no obligationto provide you with work. You are free to work for other companies or any other party. There is no period of continuous employment.
1.3 You agree that during any period that you are working for the Company you provide your services on a freelance basis. For the avoidance of doubt you accept that this engagement amounts to a contract for services and that you remain self-employed at all times. You will be responsible for payment of all taxes as a self-employed person.
2. Services
2.1 Your duties and responsibilities will be as determined by the Company from time to time.

The main purposes of 1.2 and 1.3 are to absolve the company of all statutory responsibilities and financial costs of employing you, because they go on in most of the rest of the contract to assert rights that an employer would have over an employee rather than in a relationship with an independent trader who negotiates his/her own times and conditions of work. Think 'landless peasant serf' doing piecework whenever the gangmaster says, here.

3. Payment for the services
3.1 You will be paid in arrears at the rate of:
£35.00 per picture used
£15.00 per additional picture (in same story)
£16.50 for jobs undertaken but not published.
A percentage of the profit for reprint orders.
3.2 You will invoice by post or email to this office on a monthly basis.
3.3 Invoices will be paid within 30 days of presentation.
3.4 The content will be to a standard
acceptable to the Company and if the
content is not suitable for any reason, the
Company has the right to return the
content and withhold payment.

'Any reason' gives the company the right to reject work for arbitrary reasons and you won't get paid.

As for the rates, it is worth mentioning that these rates would have been thought low 20 years ago, and then they would have applied to First British Rights. It's also worth mentioning that last year Sly Bailey, CEO of Trinity Mirror, earned £1,470,000. Now you know how she did it, and pleas of poverty should be treated with derision.

7. Copyright
7.1 You hereby assign to the Company the entire copyright whether vested contingent or future and all rights of action and all other rights of whatever nature in and to the product of the Services whether now
known or in future created to which you are now or may at any time in future be entitled for the entire period of such rights throughout the
world together with any renewals reversions and extensions.
7.2 You irrevocably and unconditionally waive all rights in respect of the product of the Services to which you are now or may in future be entitled pursuant o the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 sections 77,80,84 and 85 or any other moral rights to which you may be entitled under any legislation now existing or in future enacted in any part of the world.
7.3 You will disclose to the Company any product of the Services created by you during the course of or after the termination of this agreement and you shall during the course of or after the termination of this agreement at the Company's request and at the Company's cost join with it and do and perform all acts and things necessary to procure the registration and/or the protection of the Company's rights in and to any product of the Services.

Having handed over copyright and all moral rights, you aren't allowed to keep similars back for your own use.

6. Return of Company Property
On termination of this Agreement for whatever reason or immediately on request you shall deliver up to the Company all photographic equipment and all materials of whatever nature including all filmstock, negatives, positives, proofs, any digital information, CD's DVD's, and all books, documents, working papers, correspondence, memoranda, notes, records, computer discs or documents in any form of computer storage (including information recorded or by electronic, magnetic, optical or mechanical means), and videos, tapes, or any other material and copies provided to or prepared by you pursuant to this Agreement. The ownership of all such property will at all times remain the property of the Company and you will not make or keep any copies or extracts of them. You will also provide any computer passwords used by you in the provision of your duties with the Company.

Even consumables you paid for - or rather they paid for, included in expenses within the £35 according to this contract - will have to be handed over. And no, you can't even keep copies for your portfolio or websiite.

8.1.3 You have full right to enter into this Agreement and grant to the Company the rights in the product of the Services and you shall be the sole absolute unencumbered legal and beneficial owner of all rights of copyright and all other rights in the product of the Services pursuant to this Agreement, the rights in which are now assigned to the Company pursuant to clause 7 above.

Photographs very often contain iincluded works which are copyright of the creator or a company. This clause appears to require the freelance to warrant that copyright of included works passes to their NS employer.

8.1.4 You shall indemnify and keep indemnified the Company against all losses or damages and costs whatsoever and howsoever incurred arising directly or indirectly as a result of any breach of the terms of this Agreement

In other words, if anything at all goes pear-shaped with our use of your photos, it's your liability.

They do want a lot for £35. It appears the NS believe they are purchasing slaves, not hiring independent businesses in an arrangement of mutual equity. Sign it? Please don't.