Propositions debated at Conference 2001
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| Conference meeting at Eastbourne |
- "CARRIED" - proposition supported by Conference.
- "LOST" - proposition rejected by Conference.
- "REMITTED" - proposition handed to National Executive Committee (NEC) without any decision by Conference.
- "PASSED OVER" - proposition not debated or no vote taken.
- "WITHDRAWN" - proposition removed by those who submitted the motion and therefore not considered by Conference.
- "INCORPORATED" - amendment incorporated into proposition by agreement of movers of proposition.
Propositions RP10, RP11, RP12 and RP13, previously rejected by the SOC for being received after the deadline for propositions, were accepted by Conference onto the agenda following an explanation of the reason from the Royal Opera House Branch.
EP1 and EP2 were emergency propositions accepted onto the agenda by Conference.
Formal motions on the BECTU conference agenda
Proposition 1/01 (AP3) Election of President [alternative A]
That this annual conference approves the following alterations to rule submitted by the NEC under rule 45(b):
Rule 33(b)
Delete "clause (h)(iv) below" and insert "clause (h)(i)-(iv) below"
Delete "The National Executive Committee shall elect the President, Vice-President and Treasurer from amongst its members." and insert: "The National Executive Committee shall elect the Vice-President and Treasurer from amongst its members. The National Executive Committee shall also include the President, who shall be elected at the same time as the representatives defined above in the manner set out in clause (h) below."
Rule 33(g)
After "Should, for any cause whatsoever, a vacancy occur among the" insert "divisional"
After "In the event of there being no such candidate," insert "or should for any cause whatsoever a vacancy occur for the position of President,"
After "election of the National Executive Committee" insert "or President."
Rule 33(h)(i)
Add at end: "Candidates for election as President under clause (b) above must be nominated for that position by at least one branch in any of the divisions in clause (b) above, and otherwise in the same manner as prescribed for the nomination of candidates to represent divisions. Candidates for President shall be voted for by all paid-up members irrespective of their division."
Rule 33(h)(iv)
Add at end: "The votes for President shall be counted first, and where a candidate has been validly nominated for election to the National Executive Committee as both President and divisional representative, he/she shall if successfully elected as President not also be elected in any other capacity, and the person with the next highest number of votes in the election in the division concerned shall be declared elected as a representative for that division."
National Executive Committee
CARRIED
Amendment
In the proposed rule 33(h)(i), after "at least one branch in" delete "any" and insert "each".
North West Freelance
LOST
| Gross annual earnings | Subscription payable | |
| monthly | annually | |
| introductory offer* | £10.00 | £120.00 |
| £12,501-£15,000** | £11.25 | £135.00 |
| £15,001-£17,500 | £12.50 | £150.00 |
| £17,501-£20,000 | £14.58 | £175.00 |
| £20,001-£22,500 | £16.66 | £200.00 |
| £22,501-£25,000 | £18.75 | £225.00 |
| £25,001-£27,500 | £20.83 | £250.00 |
| £27,501-£30,000 | £22.92 | £275.00 |
| over £30,000 | £25.00 | £300.00 |
*for first year of membership only
**or, in this band only, one per cent of earnings where a member provides evidence that this is a lower amount"
Rule 9(bb)(i)
Delete in its entirety and re-letter existing rule 9(bb)(ii) as rule 9(b)(ii) and existing rule 9(bb)(iii) as rule 9(b)(iii)
Rule 9(bb)(iii) [proposed rule 9(b)(iii)]
Delete in its entirety and insert:
"With effect from 2002, and every third year thereafter, a member paying subscriptions according to the scale set out in subclause (i) above, other than at the maximum rate in that scale, whose subscription has not increased in the two year period prior to the effective date, shall be deemed to have moved to the next higher band of the scale. The member shall be given advance notice in writing of the increased subscription thus payable by him/her, and if appropriate may submit evidence of his/her earnings to show why the increase should not apply."
Rule 9(d)
After "defined in clause (a) above," delete "annually, half-annually, quarterly, monthly or weekly,"
Rule 9(f)
Delete "clauses (b) or (bb) above" and insert "clause (b) above"
National Executive Committee
CARRIED
Amendment
In rule 9(bb)(iii) [proposed rule 9(b)(iii)], in first sentence delete "whose subscription has not increased" and insert "whose subscription scale has not been updated or reconfirmed".
Camera Department
CARRIED
Proposition 4/01 (AP10) BECTU's competitiveness
That this annual conference calls upon the NEC to recognise that BECTU is losing members to other unions, such as the NUJ, in job categories where joint recognition exists and to take urgent action in the most appropriate manner to stem this loss of members by ensuring that BECTU's subscriptions become competitive.
Bush House 2
CARRIED
Proposition 5/01 (AP5) Head Office
That this annual conference recommends that the right place for the head office is at the present location, and not at Clapham, as has been suggested.
Production Management Support
LOST
Amendment
Delete "at the present location" and insert "in the Soho/West End area".
Camera Department
LOST
Propositon 6/01 (AP1) Data Protection Act 1998
That this annual conference approves the following alterations to rule submitted by the NEC under rule 45(b):
Rule 7(b)
Delete "Such data will be used by the union only for such purposes as are specified in its Data Protection registration." and insert: "Members agree to the processing of data by the union including data as to whether or not they are members of the union for the purposes of furthering its objectives in accordance with these rules."
Rule 7(d)
In last sentence delete "register computer records" and insert "process membership data"
National Executive Committee
CARRIED
Proposition 7/01 (AP17) E-mail interception
That this annual conference opposes changes to the Official Secrets Act and other measures that attempt to curtail civil liberties by the wholesale interception of personal electronic communications.
Camera Department
CARRIED
Proposition 8/01 (AP9) BECTU website
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to take immediate steps to upgrade the BECTU website.
As the principal union in the broadcasting, entertainment and multimedia industry, BECTU should have a website worthy of its status, with a content which maximises the opportunities as a means of recruitment and employment, and reflects the national and regional aspect of the organisation.
Featuring leading-edge technology and administered by a dedicated webmaster, among its provisions it should include:
South Wales Freelance
REMITTED
Amendment
In third paragraph, after "1 up-to-date information on agreements and legislation;" insert: "2 a prominent recruitment appeal advertisement panel placed high on the home page to attract potential members, including freelance workers;" then renumber remaining items accordingly; in item 4 delete ", or where employers or members can post job vacancies".
Post Production & Facilities
INCORPORATED
9/01 (AP16) Communications White Paper
That this annual conference opposes and rejects the policies laid out in the government's Communications Reform White Paper which encourage further concentration of media ownership, and which also fail to maintain and strengthen public service obligations and the quality and diversity of television broadcasting. Conference calls upon the union to campaign for the re-opening of the consultation period for the issues and policies raised by the White Paper and for an independent public inquiry into the future of television and radio broadcasting. The work of the inquiry shall be to inform and influence policy discussions around the Communications White Paper.
Camera Department
LOST
Proposition 10/01 (AP20) Labour Party affiliation
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to disaffiliate from the Labour Party.
Bush House 2
LOST
Amendment
After "disaffiliate" insert "BECTU", and after "Labour Party" insert "and remain disaffiliated until such time as a future conference decides otherwise."
BBC IT Services
LOST
Proposition 11/01 (AP21) Political Fund
That this annual conference notes:
Conference resolves:
BBC IT Services
PASSED OVER
Amendment
Delete the final sentence of the proposition (i.e. item 3).
North West Freelance
PASSED OVER
12/01 (AP6) Financial accountability
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to be fully open and accountable to conference by justifying all BECTU staff pay rises which are substantially above inflation.
Bush House 2
WITHDRAWN
Amendment
Add at end, "or substantially greater than rises won for members in the relevant area."
BBC IT Services
WITHDRAWN
13/01 (AP7) Increasing public awareness of trade unions
That this annual conference recognises that there is a need to increase the public profile of trade unions in Britain. To achieve this, BECTU should encourage the TUC, using whatever channels it sees appropriate, to embark on a memorable national TV advertising campaign similar to that organised recently by Unison.
Should it be necessary, BECTU should also be willing to raise its profile by being one of the sponsors of the campaign if the NEC feels appropriate.
Bush House 2
CARRIED
14/01 (AP8) Graduate membership
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to set in motion a system of actively publicising BECTU in the NUS and all universities to ensure that graduates wishing to enter our industry are fully aware of the existence of BECTU, what we do and how to join the Graduates branch.
Graduates & New Entrants
CARRIED
Amendment
After "all" and before "universities" insert "appropriate".
Camera Department
INCORPORATED
15/01 (AP13) Commissioning editors
That this annual conference recognises the ever-increasing interference in the creative process of the commissioning editors, particularly in Channel Four. This practice is well beyond their remit and has a direct effect on the terms and conditions of BECTU members across the grades as it has a knock-on effect on the already tight budgets as set by the finance departments.
We call upon the NEC to initiate a high level discussion with Channel Four and other broadcasters to seek to end this pernicious practice.
Post Production & Facilities
CARRIED
16/01 (AP14) Production standards
That this annual conference expresses its concern that budgets for multimedia productions and digital channels have been driven to a level that is seriously affecting production standards and quality.
Furthermore, the production process is subject to pressures that are detrimentally affecting working conditions such as health and safety.
Producers/Directors
CARRIED
17/01 (AP11) Minimum wage
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to support all efforts to further improve the minimum wage in the UK.
Bush House 2
CARRIED
18/01 (AP12) Working week
That this annual conference applauds the French government's decision to adopt a 35-hour week and instructs the NEC to put BECTU at the forefront of a campaign to introduce similar laws in the UK which will improve the work/life balance.
Bush House 2
FALLS BECAUSE OF RP13 BEING CARRIED
19/01 (AP19) Anti trade union laws
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to apply pressure wherever and whenever appropriate to achieve a modification of [the] UK legislation which severely restricts the ability of union members to take legal industrial action on points of principle such as contracting out and privatisations.
Bush House 2
CARRIED
20/01 (AP15) Pre-production rights
That this annual conference urge that BECTU take issue with relevant organisations and authorities with regard to the increasing expectation that individuals contribute to pre-production outlay and expenditure at their own expense. Due to copyright implications BECTU should ensure that members' rights are properly protected by relevant collecting societies and agents during preliminary discussions and pre-production periods of activity. Clear ownership of rights needs to be established during this time and users of preliminary works should be paid accordingly.
Animation
REMITTED
21/01 (AP18) Rail safety
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to pledge its support to the rail unions in their efforts to improve safety on Britain's railways. This conference also calls for Tube privatisation to be abandoned and for the national network to be re-nationalised.
Bush House 2
CARRIED
22/01 (AP23) Stakeholder pensions
That this annual conference calls upon the NEC to use BECTU's political influence to argue for an amendment to the Stakeholder Pension legislation to oblige employers to make contributions to employees' pensions.
As the scheme stands there is no such obligation, which discriminates unfairly between freelance and permanently employed members.
Film Lab North
CARRIED
23/01 (AP24) Age discrimination
That this annual conference requests that the NEC mounts a campaign across all divisions of BECTU to highlight the issues connected with discrimination on the grounds of age and to lobby for legislation parallel to that of the sex and race discrimination acts to deter employers who make use of ageist employment practices.
Property
CARRIED
24/01 (AP22) British Sign Language
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to urge the UK government to bring forward the necessary legislation to make British Sign Language (BSL) an official language of the UK to rank alongside English, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic, in view of the stated commitment to equal opportunities by the BBC and other broadcasters.
Kingswood Warren
CARRIED
RP3 Services
That this annual conference urge that a formal complaints procedure be adopted for members who have grievances over BECTU's service to them, additionally BECTU should establish a code of practice on service delivery for their members.
Animation
LOST
RP10 Roving H&S Representatives
We propose that BECTU support the introduction of roving H&S representatives, with the authority to issue prohibition notices to employers. Further to this, we propose that BECTU campaign with the HSE, HSC and other enforcing agencies to secure legislation to introduce roving H&S representatives in all sections of our industry where BECTU has members. This includes bringing pressure to bear on organisations to give access to roving H&S representatives in workplaces under their control.
Royal Opera House
CARRIED
RP11 Probationary periods for new staff
We propose that BECTU ensure that the maximum period of probation for workers in all industries represented by BECTU is thirteen weeks.
Royal Opera House
CARRIED
RP12 Non-union contract staff
We propose that BECTU work with other trade unions to ensure that non-unionised contract workers, based in companies that have a recognition agreement with BECTU, are organised collectively by a trade union in all matters relating to their employment.
Royal Opera House
REMITTED
RP13 Length of the working week
We propose that BECTU adopt a policy of campaigning and negotiating a basic working week of thirty-five hours for all BECTU members, with no loss of pay.
Royal Opera House
CARRIED