64 BECTU has sought to co-operate with other UK media organisations to make certain that the forthcoming General Agreement on Tariffs and Services (GATS) negotiations ensure that the current provisions within the trade agreement for the audio-visual sector cover both existing and new media.
BECTU pay structure
65 The union's Finance Officer, George Maniatakis, was due to retire in July 2000. The National Executive Committee were very mindful of this position and sought to advertise early in order to find a suitable candidate to employ as a replacement for him in the position of Finance Officer. Following two rounds of advertising, shortlisting and interviews, the National Executive Committee concluded that they were not attracting the right quality of applicant to fill the position of Finance Officer for BECTU, and that the major problem was the salary being offered by BECTU. It was agreed to ask the Finance Officer to continue working beyond his 60th birthday, and George Maniatakis agreed to work until the end of December 2000. The agreed salary at that time for the Finance Officer was £34,053. The grade of the postholder was the same as that of supervisory official. When the National Executive Committee met on the 2 July 2000 they agreed that the Finance Officer's position should be advertised without further delay at a salary of £39,000 per annum, and at the same time they agreed to enter into a joint working party with the recognised shops at head office to look at the issues of grading and differentials and the shops pay claim for 2001.
66 The result of the advertising of the Finance Officer's position at the higher salary was that the appointments panel selected by the National Executive Committee were able to interview a number of candidates, any of whom would have been able to carry out the duties of BECTU's Finance Officer. The appointments panel asked the best two candidates to make presentations to the Finance & General Purposes Committee on the 16 September 2000 after which the National Executive Committee at its meeting on the 24 September 2000 agreed to appoint Trevor King as BECTU's Finance Officer.
67 Following detailed and difficult discussions with the recognised shops, the National Executive Committee agreed at its meeting on the 5 November 2000 to introduce a new pay structure over a two year period. The comparative salaries for staff on the 1 January 2000 and the 1 January 2001 are as follows [all figures in £]:
| [Category] | - | 2000 | 2001 |
| General Secretary | - | 43,026.53 | 46,373.80 |
| Assistant General Secretary | - | 35,825.46 | 39,629.24 |
| Finance Officer | - | 34,053.58 | 39,000.00 |
| Supervisory Official (London) | - | 34,053.58 | 37,207.86 |
| Specialist Official (London) | - | 32,256.07 | 35,538.36 |
| National Official (London) | year 1 | 28,013.26 | 29,413.92 |
| " | year 2 | 29,427.53 | 30,898.91 |
| " | year 3 | 30,841.80 | 32,383.89 |
| " | year 4 | 32,256.07 | 33,868.87 |
| National Official (regions) | year 1 | 25,758.36 | 27,413.92 |
| " | year 2 | 27,172.63 | 28,898.91 |
| " | year 3 | 28,586.91 | 30,382.89 |
| " | year 4 | 30,001.18 | 31,868.87 |
| PA to General Secretary | - | 22,349.45 | 23,743.43 |
| Senior Secretary (London) from 2001 | - | - | 20,583.47 |
| Secretary (London) | - | 19,311.03 | 20,083.47 |
| Secretary(Regions) | - | 18,202.97 | 18,931.09 |
| Senior Clerical Assistant | - | 22,349.45 | 23,243.43 |
| Clerical Staff | year 1 | 16,240.80 | 16,890.43 |
| " | year 2 | 17,255.47 | 17,914.49 |
| " | year 3 | 18,210.41 | 18,938.83 |
| Evening Receptionist | year 1 | 8,120.40 | 8,445.21 |
| " | year 2 | 8,612.74 | 8,957.24 |
| " | year 3 | 9,105.21 | 9,469.42 |
68 It will be seen from the above that the staff received an increase of 4% from the 1 January 2001 with a further 1% being paid to National and Specialist Officials. The salaries of the Supervisory Officials, Assistant General Secretaries and General Secretary were increased further in order to restore and maintain differentials. The detailed costs of implementing the pay structure over two years are as follows:
Year one costs
A new pay structure in two years
- Pay all staff an increase of 4% on 1 January 2001 - £56,442
- Pay all National officers and Specialist Officers an additional 1% on 1 January 2001 - £5,887
- Increase the pay of the Supervisory Officials in year one to £37,207.86 and in year two to £39,000 - £10,066
- Increase the pay of 4 Senior Secretaries by £500 in year one and by £500 in year two - £2,220
- Increase the pay of the General Secretary and the Assistant General Secretaries in year one to £46,373 and £39,629 respectively, and in year two to £48,000 and £42,000 respectively - £7,157
NOTE:
There will be an additional salary cost in the year 2002 of £19,443, which is the second part of the increase for the Supervisory Officials (£10,066), General Secretary, Assistant General Secretaries (£7,157) and Senior Secretaries (£2,220).
Proposition 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
Amendment
Add at end, "or substantially greater than rises won for members in the relevant area."
BBC IT Services
69 Since conference 2000 the following members of staff have left the union's employment: George Maniatakis, Trevor Nicholas, Peter Coggon, Amelia Gifford, Freda Chapman, Margaret Bisset and Marie Moth. The following have joined BECTU's staff: Helen Ryan, Willie Lesslie, Andrea Church and Paul Atkinson as national officials; Trevor King as Finance Officer; Jan Foley and Feyi Raimi-Abraham as secretaries at head office. Nick Wright has been engaged on a freelance contract to replace Janice Turner during her maternity leave.
Working Time Regulations: BECTU-v-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
70 When the government in 1998 published its consultation paper setting out its intentions regarding the implementation of the Working Time Directive BECTU in its response stated: "We question very strongly the justification for the 3 months service qualification for entitlement to annual leave. Article 7 of the Directive includes no such qualification and simply states that 'every worker is entitled to paid annual leave of at least four weeks'. We cannot overemphasise that in an industry such as ours, with so many workers on freelance and short term contracts, the 3 months requirement will simply result in a very substantial proportion of the workforce having no holiday entitlement whatsoever under the Regulations. We believe this is entirely unjustified and contrary to the intention of the Directive. Given the significance of this for our members, if the Regulations remain unamended we will have no alternative but to give serious consideration to a legal challenge on this point. To clarify further, many of the freelances concerned will work on a regular basis but for a range of different companies. Their need for annual leave is as great as that of permanent employees. It therefore seems grossly unfair that the Regulations would seem to deny them this. The labour market in this sector is such that the opportunity to work in excess of 3 months for a single employer is extremely limited, and yet the widespread practice of lengthy working hours is such that annual leave is all the more necessary. We strongly urge the government to reconsider this point."
71 The General Secretary wrote in November 1998 to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, making it clear that if the government did not amend the Working Time Regulations with regard to the qualification period for annual leave, BECTU would mount a legal challenge to the government's decision. The government indicated that it had taken account of BECTU's submission during the consultation period and that it was not intending to amend the regulations.
72 The National Executive Committee authorised the General Secretary to take whatever steps were necessary to achieve a judicial review of section 13 of the Working Time Regulations, and an application for such a review was lodged in the High Court on the 2 December 1998. An oral hearing took place in the High Court on the 18 January 1999 and BECTU was granted leave for a judicial review. In March 1999 the union's lawyers were informed that the government proposed a joint application to the High Court to refer the disputed clause to the European Court for a ruling. The union agreed and on the 14 April the joint application was approved by Mr Justice Sullivan.
73 The case was considered by the European Court of Justice on the 7 December 2000. The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice reported his conclusions on the case brought by BECTU against the UK government on the 8 February 2001. The duty of the Advocate General is to assist the Court of Justice by delivering reasoned Opinions containing a proposal as to the way in which the Court of Justice should, in his view, resolve the case before it. The Court of Justice is not bound by the Advocate General's Opinion but the normal convention is for the Court to follow the Advocate Justice's Opinion. There will be a supplementary report.
Proposition 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
Recruitment and retention
74 Last year's Recruitment and Retention Strategy for the London Production division (LPD) and Regional Production division (RPD) was based on maintaining a high level of visibility in the industry through industrial/collective work, personal casework, and regular studio/production visits.
75 In 2000 the two Production divisions recruited on average 91 new members every month, indicating that we do have a positive profile in our target areas. However, this good recruitment figure needs to be set against about 41 members lost every month. The overall result was a net gain of 595 (7%) paid-up members on which to build in 2001.
76 Meanwhile, in the Arts & Entertainment (A&E), BBC and Independent Broadcasting (IB) divisions the 2000 campaign consisted of a number of activities including visits to regional television and theatre sites, and BBC, ITV and London theatre weeks (see Appendices E and F to this report). The total number of days that were dedicated to recruitment activities equated to 1.75 officials. Despite being down three officials for an average of 5 months each, only three planned visits were cancelled. This clearly demonstrates that all the officials are committed to the union's recruitment drive.
77 In A&E 1,240 new members were recruited, a net gain of 437. In the BBC 606 new members were recruited, a net gain of 41, and in IB 456 new members were recruited, a net gain of 82.
78 The main activity in 2000 was to implement the A&E division's recruitment and retention strategy in an attempt to reverse the recent decline in membership and, in consequence, subscription income. In the year membership increased from 5,760 to 6,193. Income, based on projections from the first three-quarters of the year, was expected to be very slightly in excess of the target of £450,000. This happened against a background of funding cuts in the theatre and arts centres sector, mergers and closures in the cinema sector, and a falling-off in activity in the leisure sector.
79 In IB we extended a number of current recognition agreements, most notably at the telecommunications company NTL, and we are now pursuing voluntary/statutory recognition claims in a number of companies, including MTV and BSkyB. Additional resources are being made available to these activities during 2001.
80 During 2000, not surprisingly, some initiatives worked and others failed. Initiatives that did not work were replaced with new ones. It was not possible in 2000 to measure the results of each activity due to computerisation problems in records. Where possible we are giving committees and officials ownership of the activities for their area. However activities such as regional visits need to be diaried in advance, otherwise the time will be used for something else.
Arts & Entertainment division
Cinemas
81 Odeon Cinemas have agreed to distribute our welcome packs to all new starters. NOs David Beevers and Willie Lesslie will be agreeing with their respective Subdivisional Committees (SDCs) a number of activities, including site visits, in order to increase membership density, with some priority being given to the front-of-house grades where we hope to increase our recognition rights from individual representation to collective representation. In addition, the Cinemas SDC will be looking at the current branch structure in order to ensure that as many branches as possible are functioning properly.
Leisure
82 NO Willie Lesslie and the Leisure SDC will target a couple of companies where there is a realistic chance of gaining recognition. The SDC will also look at the current branch structure.
Arts Centres and Regional Theatres
83 SO Willy Donaghy and NO Mark David-Gray intend making arrangements for each regional theatre and arts centre to receive at least one day dedicated to on-site recruitment. The regional theatre visits in 2000 were much more successful than previous years because they were planned in advance and the officials and local branch reps knew what was expected of them. Willy will be ensuring that the same level of planning takes place in 2001. It will be helpful to be able to measure the result of any activities.
London Theatres
84 The level of business at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House, Royal National Theatre and English National Opera guarantees a high union density and presence. Therefore our resources will be targeted at the West End and surrounding theatres. The current system of visiting West End Theatres prior to performances in a specific week has worked well. All employers and members are made aware of when these visits will take place. NO Mark David-Gray will co-ordinate the union's activities during these weeks. The weeks identified are those commencing on the 29 January, 30 April, 10 September and 19 November 2001.
85 Theatres in London but outside the West End (such as the Young Vic, Tricycle, Almeida, etc) will receive on-site recruitment visits.
BBC division
86 In 2000 the regional visits were welcomed by branches and were extremely useful for improving the union's profile. The London weeks did not work and we are therefore proposing a different tack for 2001. The third element of the recruitment campaign in the BBC is the new starters. Because of staff shortages and computer database problems the strategy of writing to all new members and following up with a phone call was applied too inconsistently to be successful. However the new starters campaign must be persevered with as these people are new to the BBC and should be more easily persuaded of the benefits of membership.
New Starters
87 It is vitally important that the computer database problems faced this year are resolved. NO Willie Lesslie will take over responsibility for the new starters, which includes getting the welcome letter and pack out to new recruits each month. This should be followed by a list of new starters being sent to each branch and an approach by the appropriate official. A pro-forma will be filled in after contact has been made with a new starter. Dean Baker, a member of the clerical staff, has requested opportunities to become more involved in the core activities of the union, and in consultation with the Supervisory Officials he has been given access to all the activities of a National Official. In addition, as a discrete piece of work, Dean will phone the new starters monthly and will ask a number of questions, including age, reason for joining or refusing to join the union. The information gathered will form part of a useful research project.
BBC London
88 The core function of the BBC is to make programmes. Our density of membership on the Resources side is good, but is weak in Production. The BBC Resources base continues to shrink and the Production arm continues to grow. The different Production areas have been titled �Petals� by the Director General. With approximately 10,000 members in the Petals NO Helen Ryan has been allocated to this patch of work only. Part of Helen's responsibility will be to develop branch activities and increase membership. Each Petal will have at least two dedicated recruitment days in the year, but recruitment and development will be part of the day to day work. SO Luke Crawley and AGS Gerry Morrissey will be assisting in the activities in this area.
89 In order to maintain our profile, a recruitment stall will be available twice a year at Television Centre, White City and Broadcasting House. Similar activities will be arranged locally at Bush House.
BBC Regions
90 See Appendix E for the calendar of regional visits.
Independent Broadcasting division
91 The 2000 campaign has ensured that we have maintained our membership in ITV, despite mergers and redundancies. Appendix E lists the dates for regional ITV visits.
London IB weeks
92 The weeks listed in Appendix E have been identified for recruitment activities at companies such as London Weekend Television, ITN, and Channel 4. These activities will include leafleting sessions, recruitment stalls and direct contact with staff.
NTL
93 Over 3000 new staff are covered by our recognition agreement. Our campaign has started slowly and has not been helped by lack of resources. NO David Beevers has had collective bargaining duties reduced in order to dedicate time to making contact with this 3000. SO Sharon Elliott and David Beevers are aware that it is crucial for a number of reasons that we make significant progress in this area. The campaign includes a programme of visits to key NTL sites, direct mailings and developing local representatives.
Sky, On-Digital, ITFC
94 The above companies have been targeted by us for over a year. The leafleting sessions will have to be increased, and meetings and site visits will be arranged. When we reach a reasonable level of membership consideration will then be given to making a formal application for recognition. Subject to maintaining a full complement of officials, resources will be given to this campaign.
London Production and Regional Production divisions
95 So far we have lacked ways of measuring the success of particular recruitment activities. Our overall membership growth is a good sign, but within the broad strategy we need to find ways to distinguish activities that are effective from others which are less effective or ineffective. One of the aims of the Recruitment and Retention strategy for 2001 is to move us in this direction.
96 Another guiding principle in 2001 is to make better use of our single most valuable asset: our own members. All the evidence from throughout the trade union movement indicates that fellow union members are the best recruiters. But we need to equip our members with the tools to do the job.
London, the Nations and the Regions
97 In terms of numbers employed and investment, the industry continues to be very much centred on London, but within that overall picture significant regional/national distinctions are emerging. South Wales, the M62 axis in Northern England, and Scotland, each have strong production sectors, and increasingly these are based not just on TV, video and radio but also on film - e.g. the two major film studio projects in Scotland - and new media/multimedia. Culturally national and regional distinctions are as important as ever, but industrially the trend is to convergence. Consequently the broad approach to recruitment and retention mapped out below refers to both LPD's and RPD's areas of organisation.
98 Recruitment and retention efforts in RPD specifically were hit in 2000 by the lack of an official based in the North of England. This situation should be rectified when the new official, Paul Atkinson, is in place working from our new Manchester office. Despite these problems, RPD's paid-up membership has grown by 161 (6.5%) in 2000.
99 The Recruitment and Retention strategy for 2001 has three main elements: Retention; Recruitment of non-members already working in industry; and Recruitment of new entrants to industry.
Retention
100 Of the estimated 40 members lost every month, many leave due to retirement, change of career, etc. But others are avoidable.
101 Lapsing members For several years we have requested regular information on members about to be lapsed. The membership database can now generate this information, and the membership department provides it every month. Officials liaise with branch officers to contact these members personally and seek to persuade them to stay in membership. Results so far have been encouraging.
102 Branch reorganisation We will continue with the programme of branch reorganisation and amalgamation in the London area. This has two aims: to give every member access to a viable and functioning branch; and to create a branch structure which is industrially responsive and relevant. The newly-formed Post Production & Facilities branch is functioning well and is actively involved in recruitment. The priority in 2001 is to establish a functioning Amalgamated Studios branch to improve and extend our organisation in film and TV studios.
103 Recruitment of non-members already working in industry Officials regularly visit studios and locations in the course of their contact with individual productions. Each such visit is a recruitment opportunity.
104 Studio Days In addition to regular production visits, teams of Officials will visit designated studios in the London area. Advance publicity will be distributed in these studios to maximise the impact. Special attention will be paid to sites (usually TV studios) where we do not currently have regular access. A regular presence and high visibility in the studios is important not only for recruitment, but also for retention in that it demonstrates the union's presence and activity. A calendar schedule of Studio Days appears below.
Tuesday 16 January Spencer MacDonald. Jim Carroll. Tom Bell.
Wednesday 21 February Sue Harris. Martin Spence. David Donovan.
Thursday 8 March Spencer MacDonald. Jim Carroll. Sue Harris.
Tuesday 10 April Tom Bell. Martin Spence. David Donovan.
Wednesday 16 May Spencer MacDonald. Jim Carroll. Martin Spence.
Thursday 21 June Tom Bell. Sue Harris. David Donovan.
Tuesday 10 July Spencer MacDonald. Jim Carroll. Tom Bell.
Wednesday 8 August Sue Harris. Martin Spence. David Donovan.
Thursday 20 September Spencer MacDonald. Jim Carroll. TBA.
Tuesday 16 October Tom Bell . Martin Spence. David Donovan.
Wednesday 14 November Spencer MacDonald. Jim Carroll. Martin Spence.
Thursday 11 December Tom Bell. David Donovan. TBA.
105 Location visits Outside London, production is likely to be location- rather than studio-based. We are therefore committed to a regular programme of location visits to productions based in the nations and regions. For obvious reasons it is not possible to draw up an annual schedule of such visits in advance.
106 "Recruit a Friend" cards "Recruit a Friend" cards have proved successful since their introduction two years ago. They will be actively promoted and distributed to branch committee members, other active members, and members known to be working alongside non-members on productions.
107 Target companies A revised list of �target companies� for recruitment and recognition has been drawn up in the light of the past year's experience, focusing on post-production and facilities, film/TV studios, and TV news agencies.
108 New Media Our experience in New Media has highlighted the need for a co-ordinated recruitment effort across BECTU, to match the growing involvement of broadcasters and major employers including the BBC. Starting in 2001 we will draw up a joint recruitment strategy with colleagues in the BBC and IB divisions.
109 Recruitment monitoring In the freelance sector, until now we have had no way of knowing how new recruits hear about BECTU or why they decide to join. During 2001 we will receive detailed information from the membership department on new recruits as they come into membership. We will use this to monitor new recruits and to identify the relative effectiveness of our different recruitment activities.
Recruitment of new entrants to the industry
110 The film and TV industry continues to be faced each year with enormous numbers of young hopefuls, from the hundreds of media courses and elsewhere. BECTU's success in attracting these young people into membership will depend on them perceiving us as a source of practical help in career development.
111 Graduate/New Entrants Branch During the course of 2001 the Graduate/New Entrants Branch will restructure its activities so as to provide an "Induction to the Industry" with events such as masterclasses, talks by key employers, advice on CV presentation provided by trained Skillsbase advisers, and the annual Graduates' Show at BAFTA.
112 Using colleges BECTU's role in providing an "Induction to the Industry" will be actively promoted to colleges and training schemes so that they can encourage their students to join us during or upon graduation from their courses.
113 Skillsformedia.com These activities will dovetail with BECTU's high profile on the Skillsformedia.com website, the industry's new one-stop-shop for careers advice (see paragraph 176).
Proposition 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
Amendment
After "all" and before "universities" insert "appropriate".
Camera Department