Accepted and rejected policy propositions 2008
The following propositions have been accepted and rejected by the Standing Orders Committee.
Proposition 1/08 Venue for conference (AP1)
That this annual conference recognises that BECTU has many members across the nations of the UK but has not held conference outside England for well over a decade despite previous propositions urging the NEC to consider such locations. This conference instructs the NEC to give more serious consideration to a cost-effective venue outside England for the next conference whose location is yet to be settled.
BBC Cardiff
Proposition 2/08 Information (AP2)
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to make minutes of its meetings available to BECTU members online.
Post Production & Facilities
Proposition 3/08 Political Fund (AP3)
That this annual conference believes that the Political Fund could be better used as a tool for furthering BECTU's aims in parliament and elsewhere. It instructs the NEC to discuss with the divisions details of Political Fund activities over the past five years, whether there is scope to increase or broaden these, and whether an increase in members' Political Fund contributions is indicated.
Post Production & Facilities
Proposition 4/08 Members working on party political and party election broadcasts (AP4)
Members working on party political and party election broadcasts
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to draw up a clear set of guidelines which fully explain the actions which members should take when facing ethical decisions while working on party political and party election broadcasts. The guidelines should clearly state what actions members can and cannot take and what support BECTU will and will not give. These guidelines will be published on the BECTU website and in the journal as well as other appropriate places at times when such advice is likely to be needed. These guidelines should be pan-BECTU and will replace the less formal and less thorough ad hoc advice generally given during past elections.
BBC Cardiff
Proposition 5/08 Participatory democracy (AP5)
That this annual conference notes that secure member access to the BECTU website has the potential to free parts of the democratic process from scheduled meetings, increase overall activity and allow participation over time from home or workplace. This conference believes this approach would encourage greater participation by membership and strengthen the union and instructs the NEC to assess the feasibility of setting up the facilities to do this and report back to all divisions.
Post Production & Facilities
Proposition 6/08 Representation of overseas members (AP6)
That this annual conference notes that there are lots of people working overseas for British media companies on lower wages and worse conditions than colleagues in the UK. Many would like to join BECTU but are not encouraged to do so because the union can't offer them any services.
Conference instructs the NEC to investigate the possibility of setting up a new membership category that can provide some benefits to overseas members.
Bush
SOC note: SOC expresses concern about the ambiguity in this proposition in that it appears, but does not make clear, that the overseas workers concerned are those locally employed and not on secondment from the UK, and if so what implications their BECTU membership would have for relevant local trade unions.
Proposition 7/08 Unpaid hours (AP7)
That this annual conference deplores the increasing incidence of production companies expecting everything to be ready when they turn up, and refusing to pay for prep and wrap hours outwith the production times, sometimes leading to erosion of actual breaks between duties and infringements of the Working Time Directive.
This conference calls on the NEC to take vigorous action to eliminate these abuses of the dedication of members to their jobs, and to ensure proper recognition of the need for adequate prep, wrap - and, where applicable, travel time - to be included in paid hours.
Scottish Freelance
Proposition 8/08 European model contracts (AP8)
That this annual conference supports the initiative of IMAGO [the European Federation of Cinematographers] to develop pan-European model contracts.
Camera
Proposition 9/08 Funding of public service broadcasting (AP9)
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to lobby the new Culture Secretary [and] BECTU's MP and MEPs group to ensure cable, satellite and digital channels and suppliers help fund public service broadcasting.
This would be aimed at ensuring all organisations that benefit commercially from licences to broadcast on digital, cable or satellite in the UK help fund terrestrial public service broadcasting and to stop existing public funding being redirected to fill this gap.
Writers Producers Directors
Proposition 10/08 Union-wide broadcasting policy (AP10)
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to produce plans for an inter-divisional committee to coordinate union-wide broadcasting policy, in consultation with affected divisions in time for consideration at the next annual conference.
Writers Producers Directors
Proposition 11/08 Commission for Labour Rights (AP11)
That this annual conference instructs the NEC to lobby the Government, through the TUC and its MPs group to set up a Commission for Labour Rights.
This would proactively check that rights of employed and self-employed workers are respected and promote and enforce company transparency on profitability towards its employed and self-employed workers. This could also extend towards smaller sub-contractors to avoid a squeeze on pay, conditions, transparency and health and safety, where appropriate.
The commission could also promote, support and enforce measures to ensure workforce representation in companies without recognised trade unions, on pay, conditions and health and safety - to proactively promote as level a playing field of best-practice work conditions as possible and warn on measures which may lead to severe job losses or production moving abroad.
Writers Producers Directors
SOC note: SOC expresses concern about the lack of clarity in this proposition, in particular the conflict between 'proactive' state-sponsored promotion of workers' interests and the role (and very existence) of trade unions.
Proposition 12/08 Hands Off Venezuela (AP12)
That this annual conference agrees to affiliate [BECTU] to the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign.
Writers Producers Directors
Proposition 13/08 Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (AP13)
That this annual conference recognises that following devolution responsibility for education, economic development and other devolved issues in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland now reside[s] with the Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Government respectively. Conference calls on BECTU to ensure that formal responses to consultations on issues that affect the working lives and career development opportunities of BECTU members across all four countries within the UK are properly addressed, and that sufficient time and resources are available to respond effectively to important policy documents.
South Wales Freelance
Proposition 14/08 Freelance fairs (AP14)
That this annual conference recognises and applauds the success of BECTU's freelance fairs held in London, Bristol and Manchester. Conference proposes that BECTU provides the necessary financial and human resources required to deliver an equally successful freelance fair to be held in Cardiff during 2008/9.
South Wales Freelance
Amendment
Add at end: 'We would also seek to see a freelance fair held annually in the North West in response to the development of Mediacity.'
North West Freelance
Proposition 15/08 Break the link with Labour, overturn the anti-union laws (AP15)
[This conference notes:
- That the world is in the grip of a global economic crisis, leading to an increase in competition between multinational corporations over access to profitable markets and sources of cheap raw materials, which in turn is leading to an increase in wars, such as the war in Iraq, which is a war to control the vast oil wealth of the Middle East;
- That the increasing inability of even the rich imperialist states to pay for decent social provision at home is inevitably leading to further attacks on the wages, conditions and social wage of workers in Britain;
- That all the 'anti-terror' legislation introduced in the last few years has in practice been aimed, not at 'foreign terrorists', but at British citizens who are protesting against either war abroad or attacks on living standards at home - such as Brian Haw or Walter Wolfgang, for example;
- That the Labour party has proved beyond any shadow of doubt its loyalty to the interest of British corporations and the protection of their profits, and to this end has shown itself willing to commit war crimes, such as the slaughter of well over a million innocent Iraqis, to attack civil liberties of British workers, to dismantle and privatise British public services, from health and education to the mail and broadcasting, and to use 'anti-terror' and 'asylum' legislation to whip up racist hysteria and use these as a cover for persecuting and scapegoating sections of the British working class, especially muslims;
- That the anti-union legislation brought in by the Conservatives and kept by Labour was drawn up to intimidate and criminalise any really organised fight back against these attacks by the workers of Britain;
- That much of the successful action taken by millions of French workers against attacks on their pay and conditions was officially 'illegal' (as were the walkouts by British Airways baggage handlers and the refusal of Daily Star workers to print a particularly racist spread), but that the strength of their unity made this fact irrelevant;
- That any remaining illusions our members might have had in the union's ability to 'influence' Labour via our affiliation have been finally shattered by the farce of the recent licence fee consultation.
This conference believes:
- That given the above conditions, it is imperative for all trade unions to prepare themselves and their members for a serious fight against further encroachment on pay, conditions, pensions etc, and to defend services such as health, education, the postal service and public broadcasting;
- That any serious fight against the ongoing attacks on workers' living standards must include fighting against the Labour party, which is a party that represents the interests of big business;
- That remaining affiliated to Labour not only hampers this union's ability to fight against attacks on our pay and conditions, but also implicates our members in the war crimes of the Labour government;
- That unjust anti-worker legislation must be overturned, and that the only way to overturn the present anti-union legislation is to defy it en masse.]
[That] This [annual] conference resolves:
- To withdraw all funding from the Labour party and cease this union's political affiliation with immediate effect;
- To use all means at the union's disposal to fight against further attacks on pay, pensions etc, even if to be effective means to defy the anti-union laws;
- To coordinate with other unions to build a mass campaign to defy the anti-union laws and protect the pay and conditions of all workers in Britain.
Radio & Music Production
SOC note: SOC has rejected as excessive argument all of this proposition except the final paragraph. SOC warns that omnibus model resolutions of such length take the form of manifestos rather than propositions, and are not addressed to conference in the spirit of rule 42(g). The points made in the deleted paragraphs may of course be made when the proposition is moved at conference, subject to speakers' time limits.
Amendment
In subclause 3, after 'anti-union laws' delete 'and' and insert 'in order to'
Radio & Music Production
Proposition 16/08 Arts and theatre funding (AP16)
That this annual conference calls on the NEC to make representation to the Arts Council of England to ensure they have a clear and transparent arts and theatre funding policy.
Torbay
Proposition 17/08 Long service (AP17)
That this annual conference [considers] that any member having served a period of 50 (fifty) years membership should receive a certificate in recognition of [his/her] service presented by the President.
Film Artistes
SOC note: this proposition was inadvertently omitted from those published with Conference Document 3
Propositions rejected by the SOC
RP1 Defending the BBC
That this annual conference notes that the BBC is under attack from a number of vested interests, and has a set of managers who are unable or unwilling to stand up for the Corporation effectively in public.
Conference instructs the NEC to set up a meeting with its cross-party committee of MPs and work on a campaign to defend public service broadcasting.
Bush
SOC's reason for rejection: existing policy
RP2 Half-day deals
That this annual conference acknowledges that there should be no such thing as a half-day deal for Hair & Make-up.
Hair & Make-up
SOC's reason for rejection: more advantageously dealt with by remission to the London Production division under rule 42(h)
RP3 Qualifications
That this annual conference welcomes the progress being made towards workable qualifications for some grades and encourages all branches to participate in the efforts to produce standards and qualifications for all grades.
Camera
SOC's reason for rejection: existing policy