London Production, Regional Production and Labs: recruitment overview
London Production
189 By early 1999 over 60% of LPD members had signed up for the "new deal" subscription structure, which can be taken as a clear vote of confidence in the union and the effectiveness and relevance of the services it offers. The Division exceeded its 1998 income target figure by 10%, but this good financial performance must be set alongside disappointing membership figures which show a net fall in membership over the year. Much of the fall was however concentrated in relatively few branches. Retention of existing and recently lost members clearly remains a priority alongside recruitment. Current recruitment activities include production and distribution of a "Recruitment Calling Card"; building on the most popular freelance services identified by the freelance members' survey; close co-operation with the Broadcasting team to recruit freelances working in ITV and the BBC.
Regional Production
190 There has also been a good response from RPD members to the new subscription structure. By early 1999 more than two-thirds of members had altered their subscription payments in line with the new banded system. The Division's 1998 income exceeded its target by 13%. This is a clear vote of confidence in the union's freelance services. However, there is no cause for complacency, as this rise in income coincided with a net fall in the Division's membership. It is clear that active work to retain existing or recently lost members must continue alongside efforts to recruit new ones. Recruitment activities in 1999 will benefit from the major freelance survey undertaken in both the Production Divisions, which will help identify existing services and new which freelances find most valuable. The Division's Officials work closely with the Broadcasting team on regular recruitment days and surgeries at BBC and ITV studios throughout the country.
Proposition 23/99 Election of freelance representatives/stewards (AP9)
That this annual conference requests the NEC to initiate procedures to ensure that freelance crews elect a BECTU representative/steward on all productions on which they are working.
Property
Laboratories
191 The Labs Division continues to function well. For most of last year the three largest labs - Technicolor, Deluxe and Metrocolor - have had a large volume of work. The strength of sterling and the cheaper labour costs of the Technicolor Labs in Rome have meant that a lot of work is being diverted to Rome. Overtime and shifts have been cut back at Technicolor and Metrocolor is facing a survival plan with 24 redundancies.
192 Rank Labs Denham, now known as Deluxe, has continued to flourish and is busy and taking on new labour. Film Labs North thrives as a new shop although it is currently looking for a new owner.
193 BECTU still has thirty members at Reuters. Our convenor sits on all the major negotiating committees with the NUJ. There has been a threat of redundancies at the end of the year due to multiskilling.
194 The National Film and Television Archive at Berkhamsted has created 30 new jobs with its Lottery monies. They are currently being recruited into membership.
195 Deluxe Video remains the flagship for video cassette duplication. The recently opened Deluxe distribution centre in Park Royal with 30 new jobs is now 100% union organised.
196 The Fairness at Work legislation will hopefully make recognition easier to achieve in Technicolor Video and Cin Ram in Norwich - both plants are targeted for a recruitment campaign later this year.
197 Pay rises across the division were between 3% and 4%. Three laboratories retain the cost of living agreement.
198 We are still in the process of negotiation regarding the Working Time Regulations across the eleven different labs. Compensatory rest for weekend working and the Individual Opt Out have proved the most contentious areas, the Individual Opt Out being the most serious threat to the collective agreement and the authority of the convenor.
London Production
PACT
199 Negotiations with the Producers' Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT), focused on the need to take on board the provisions of the Working Time Regulations and integrate them into the PACT/BECTU Freelance Production Agreement. In April 1999 agreement was reached on rest periods, holiday entitlement, limits on the aggregation of hours between weeks, and a 12% increase on the three-year-old minimum rates of pay. Acceptance of this agreement is subject to a ballot of members affected due to take place in late April/early May. The result should be known before conference.
AFVPA
200 Our relationship with the Advertising Film and Video Producers' Association (AFVPA) continues to be robust and professional. We are still affected to some degree by the fallout from the 1997/98 Equity commercials dispute. At the time of writing our three-yearly renegotiation is under way. The AFVPA Agreement is a strong agreement reflecting the sector's character as a high value, high skill area of production.
Proposition 24/99 AFVPA agreement (AP26)
That this annual conference would like to see the AFVPA agreement extended to cover all animation sub-division grades.
Animation
Film Artistes
201 The FAA/PACT Agreement continues to operate. We have an effective working relationship with most of the leading agents for background artistes, which is a key requirement for effective policing of the Agreement.
Proposition 25/99 Payments through agents (AP16)
That this annual conference notes that without changes to DTI regulations, actors/artists cannot check the date of payment by the employers or check that the agent has paid them the correct amount an on time. Without a date of payment, actors/artists cannot claim late payment interest.
Conference therefore instructs the NEC to lobby the DTI:
(1) to allow actors/artists to claim late payment interest, reference DTI legislation "Statutory Right to Interest". Currently only agents have the right to claim this interest if they so wish to do so. Agents do not have to pass this on to the actor/artist.
(2) to make it a legal responsibility for agents to show on their remittance advice to the actor/artist the date that the agent received payment from the employer.
(3) to make it a legal responsibility, when an agent is used as the third party, for employers to send a remittance advice to the actor/artist, stating the amount paid and the date payment was sent to the agent. To make it a legal responsibility for the agent to pass this advice on, to the actor/artist.
Film Artistes
Proposition 26/99 Objects of the union (AP1)
That this annual conference reinforces and abides by the rules as stated in rule 5 clauses (w) through to (cc)
Film Artistes
Animation
202 In the absence of a formal agreement with employers, BECTU continues to issue rates advice to members working in animation. The Animation Directory has been published annually for some years now. It is widely used, and its close and visible association with BECTU undoubtedly raises the union's profile in the sector. The Directory's publishers have approached us to discuss further publishing initiatives in animation.
Freelances in ITV/BBC
203 Freelance members engaged by ITV companies and the BBC encounter a wide range of different rates and working practices. Relations with individual ITV franchise-holders in London and the South-East vary, but it is usually possible to raise freelance issues either at local or corporate level. The BBC still refuses to recognise BECTU for collective bargaining on behalf of freelances.
Feature film sector
204 Various factors - the Working Time Regulations, Fairness at Work, and new health and safety initiatives - are combining to give us new influence in the feature film sector. However employment is still affected by the sector's traditional pattern of "boom and bust", and is especially dependent on a small number of big-budget US productions, which account for about half of the total feature film spend.
Training and qualifications
205 Initiatives within LPD over the year to give freelance members access to training and/or formal professional qualifications include the first award of NVQs to Riggers; courses for Stagehands on safe operation of forklift trucks and scissor lifts; continuing development of the All-Industry Special Effects Grading Scheme; and a joint project on Production Managers training with FT2, the National Film & Television School, PACT and the Production Managers' Association.
Directors' Rights Campaign
206 Under European and British copyright law, directors are now recognised as "authors" with a statutory right to equitable remuneration for the exploitation of their work. BECTU has launched the Directors' Rights Campaign in partnership with the Directors' Guild of Great Britain (DGGB) and the Directors' and Producers' Rights Society (DPRS) to assert these rights. The Campaign organised a highly successful meeting in February, attended by over 200 of the country's top film and TV directors. BECTU is seeking to maintain and strengthen our existing agreement with the BBC, and to negotiate new agreements with the ITV companies and PACT.
Employment services
207 In 1997 the Division initiated a working relationship with a multimedia production company, with the aim of producing an interactive CD-ROM Directory of LPD freelance members, for distribution to potential employers. Unfortunately the relationship foundered in 1998 because of internal problems within the company. Only one functioning version of the CD-ROM was produced. We are however pushing forward with the concept of digitally-based employment services, whether on CD-ROM or the Internet, and are in discussions with prospective new partners.
Regional Production
Staffing
208 The Regional Production Division was probably affected more than any other Division by staff restructuring in 1998. All the regionally-based Officials experienced significant changes in their workload, and this inevitably impacted upon branches and members. However, it also created the conditions for a new and close working relationship with London-based freelance officials, to the benefit of members in both divisions.
PACT/TAC
209 As stated above negotiations with the Producers' Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT) have focused on the need to take on board the provisions of the Working Time Regulations and integrate them into the PACT/BECTU Freelance Production Agreement, as well as on a long-overdue pay rise. A claim has also been lodged with the Welsh independent producers' association, TAC. It is proposed to pursue this in parallel with the PACT negotiations.
Animation
210 The animation production sector has a strong regional presence, such as the cluster of companies in and around Bristol. BECTU continues to issue rates advice to members working in animation. The Animation Directory has been published annually for some years now. It is widely used, and its close and visible association with BECTU undoubtedly raises the union's profile in the sector. The Directory's publishers have approached us to discuss further publishing initiatives in animation.
Freelances in ITV and BBC
211 For many regionally-based freelance members, their local ITV company and BBC centre are major sources of employment. BECTU has local agreements covering some freelance rates and conditions in certain ITV companies, including Anglia, HTV and STV. There are also locally-accepted rates for freelances working to some BBC centres, although at corporate level the BBC still refuses to recognise BECTU for collective bargaining on behalf of freelances, as do some ITV companies.
Proposition 27/99 BBC Pebble Mill (AP27)
That this annual conference notes with alarm the BBC's serious review of its occupation of Pebble Mill, the last remaining centre of production in the West Midlands. This conference believes that closure of this centre would have disastrous consequences for employment of all categories of member in the region. It therefore calls on the union to mount a campaign to urge the BBC to maintain a major production arm in England's Second City.
West Midlands Freelance
Training and qualifications
212 Access to adequate, affordable training continues to be a major issue for many freelance members. At national and regional level, BECTU has invested enormous effort in recent years in rebuilding a training infrastructure for the industry. At regional level, much film and TV training is now co-ordinated through Regional Training Consortia, and BECTU continues to be represented on these consortia by officials or lay members of RPD.
Employment services
213 For several years printed Directories have been published covering the various national and regional areas within RPD, helping RPD members promote themselves to potential employers. The existence of these Directories, often produced in local partnerships with Screen Commissions and other organisations, means that RPD has been less badly hit than LPD by problems with the CD-ROM project mentioned above.
Proposition 28/99 Credits (AP25)
That this annual conference urges that BECTU campaign to ensure that all BECTU members of crews in film and television production are duly credited.
Animation
Area Committees
Midlands
214 There have been two meetings of the committee during the year, in September and December 1998.
Yorkshire/Humberside/Northern
215 There have been no meetings of the committee during the year.
North West/Cumbria
216 There have been no meetings of the committee during the year.
Western
217 There have been no meetings of the committee during the year.
Scottish
218 In September 1998 the Scottish Area Committee sought and obtained the approval of the NEC to be known as the Scottish Committee. It continues to meet regularly and is well attended. It has put forward delegates to both the STUC Congress and Scottish Labour Party conference, raising issues such as racist party political broadcasts and broadcasting regulation.
219 Through its delegates to the Scottish FEU the Scottish Committee has played a direct role in the shaping of STUC arts policy.
220 In addition, the establishment of a Scottish Parliament has created ongoing opportunities for the Committee to be involved in the work of the Steering Group responsible for advising Government on the working of the parliament.
221 Through the Scottish Committee BECTU's branches in Scotland have had the opportunity to tell the STUC and Government how they want Scotland's Parliament to be run.
222 The Committee continues to be a relevant liaison vehicle between BECTU's Divisions in Scotland, disseminating Divisional policies to and between branches.
Wales
223 The Area Committee Wales met twice during 1998.
224 Its primary action was to recommend motions and delegates for the Wales TUC conference to the NEC for their consideration. The 1998 conference particularly was memorable because for the first time the BECTU delegation included a woman member. The business of the conference was reported by David Bumford.
225 As important as the continuing presence at the Wales TUC conference was the opportunity offered to BECTU by the Welsh Affairs Committee to present evidence to its enquiry into broadcasting in Wales following the establishment of the Welsh Assembly and the impact of digital television broadcasting. It is felt that the consistent high profile resulting from BECTU's attendance at the annual TUC conference arising from the Area Committee Wales was influential in ensuring this invitation.
Ireland
226 There were no Area Committee meetings held in Ireland during the year.