156 BECTU's views on public policy issues are put forward whenever relevant to members interests - especially on industry and labour market issues. Examples drawn from the past year include:
Broadcasting
157 The union has made a major submission on the Communications White Paper, with a view to emphasising the importance of �content� issues in the audio-visual sector. This was preceded by submissions to the Independent Television Commission (ITC) on Public Service Broadcasting and ITV Regional Production.
158 At an earlier stage, the union contributed comments on the ITV Schedule Review, including the rescheduling of News at Ten.
Film
159 A major development has been the establishment of the Film Council. BECTU now meets the Council on a regular basis through the Federation of Entertainment Unions. A specific submission was also made on the Film Council's Regional Consultation stressing the importance of regional production, as well as on the Lottery Strategy.
160 BECTU also contributed to the BFI/DCMS survey and seminar on Audio-visual Statistics.
161 The issue of work permits is relevant to freelances in the film industry and elsewhere. BECTU has made several contributions to the Overseas Labour Services consultation and has achieved agreement on annual review meetings.
Employment protection
162 Employment legislation affects all members, whether permanently employed or freelance. One key issue has been to press government for an inclusive definition of �worker� in such legislation, seeking to ensure rights for all members whatever their employment status.
163 Specific new legislation on which BECTU has lobbied includes that on Fixed Term Workers, Part Time Workers, the Working Time Regulations (including legal cases on tax status and, very importantly, in the European Court on holiday entitlement), and Disciplinary/Grievance Procedures.
Proposition 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
Proposition 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
Proposition 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
Europe
164 The union has continued to monitor and lobby on European issues, including the GATS Regulations, MEDIA Plus, Television Without Frontiers and Convergence. BECTU hosts meetings of a broad-based European Working Group to assist this work.
Copyright
165 The union, assisted by the Copyright Committee and Copyright Consultant, has worked hard on issues such as the DACS Secondary Payments Distribution, the Copyright Directive, the Directive on the Artists' Resale Right and the Taxation of Intellectual Property. The Alliance for the Protection of Copyright has continued its work during the past year. A meeting with the broadcasters took place early in 2001 and the broadcasters are currently considering agreeing to extend the code to cover radio as well as television programmes.
Proposition 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
Other policy issues
166 BECTU has been represented on the Research Committee of the Audio-visual Industry Training Group, hosted by Skillset. The Committee was responsible for drafting the questionnaires for the Industry Census and subsequent Freelance Survey, providing invaluable labour market and training needs information.
167 BECTU continues to lobby on health and safety issues, including response to Revitalising Health and Safety and the definition of �worker� in revised legislation.
Proposition 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
Legal and other services
168 The union's legal service has won approximately £1m for members in damages and settlements on a broad range of employment protection, personal injury and breach of contract cases.
169 A major extension of the service is due to be launched, including access to initial legal advice on non-employment issues a 365 day/24 hour basis. Thompsons solicitor Tom Jones has provided the following description of the expanded service:
BECTU's legal service is to be radically expanded during the course of the next few months following an agreement with the union's solicitorsThompsons. Personal injury cover already exists for members injured at work and for members and their families injured in road traffic accidents away from work. Under the new package personal injury cover will be expanded to cover any accident or disease for a member at work and any accident they may have outside work. There will also be an extension for a BECTU member's family with cover for any non work accident. So whether it is an accident in the street, on the road, on property belonging to someone else or even in the park BECTU's legal package will be there to help.170 BECTU has launched a Stakeholder Pension scheme, in conjunction with Berkeley Burke as advisor and Norwich Union as provider. The scheme is geared to freelances and to staff without occupational pension cover. Relevant members and employers in all of our sectors are encouraged to consider joining the scheme.Members and their families are increasingly bombarded with advertising for "no win no fee" legal services. The truth is that they are often not really "no fee" at all and contain hidden charges. The claims companies and High Street solicitors who advertise not only have questionable quality standards but invariably only want to take on those cases they think they can't lose. In contrast the union's legal package guarantees quality standards, maintains the criteria for taking on a case at 50% and is truly free. And in another radical new departure filling in a form is going to become a thing of the past, the service will be available both on the telephone and online - one phone call and you are through to BECTU's Legal Helpline.
A member might want a lawyer following an accident, to get hold of a wills questionnaire, to make contact with the conveyancing service. All these will be available on one exclusive freephone number.
That same freephone number will offer a new 24 hour legal helpline available to members with any legal problem 365 days a year. Offering up to 30 minutes of legal advice from a lawyer in Thompsons Free Legal AdviceDepartment the service will be free to members. BECTU will be working with the department to monitor quality and see that it maintains its current "good" or "excellent" rating from over 85% of those who use their services.
171 On tax and national insurance, the union continues to provide advice to members, but with an additional focus in the past year on minimising the impact on freelances of IR35 and ensuring access, regardless of tax status, to the Working Time Regulations.
Proposition 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
Training, skills and lifelong learning
Setting BECTU's agenda for learning in the cultural industries
172 The last year has seen BECTU's role as a major player in learning issues across the cultural industries go from strength to strength. Whilst maintaining our strong consultative and influential presence on the key industry bodies, we have consolidated our position as the major provider of quality careers advice and guidance to the audio-visual sector, through our flagship Skillsbase project. The union continues to lead innovative new lifelong learning initiatives, drawing on our considerable experience of UK funding infrastructures, and underpinned by our well established partnerships and networks.
The key achievements
Skillsbase
173 The year has proved a landmark one for BECTU's unique and groundbreaking advice and guidance project. Not only has the service been successfully rolled out in Wales, funding has also been secured to extend it to Scotland throughout 2001. Additionally Skillsbase has been piloted in the BBC as an additional support mechanism for permanent staff facing redundancy.
174 The service has continued to diversify to meet the specific needs of the industry's workforce, offering specialist workshops for freelances in marketing skills and CV writing. Designed to complement the core one-to-one advice and guidance sessions, these workshops have proved extremely popular with freelances.
175 In recognition of the high regard in which Skillsbase is now held, Skillset the National Training Organisation have now entered into preliminary talks with BECTU with a view to entering into a formal partnership arrangement with Skillsbase in order to deliver a new expanded UK wide careers advice and guidance service to the audio-visual industry.
Skillsformedia.com
176 One of the original aims of the Skillsbase project was to deliver on line careers advice and guidance. BECTU Skillsbase and Skillset have now entered into a formal partnership to create and develop jointly the premier careers website for the media industries. The website, due to be launched in the spring of 2001, will be aimed at experienced practitioners as well as both new entrants to the industry and those who are already on the way to becoming established. The value of this particular part of the Skillsbase project in terms of increased profile for the union cannot be underestimated and the opportunities for recruitment that flow from it will need to be fully exploited.
TOSCA Project
177 In September 2000 BECTU and the English National Opera (ENO) launched a new project. Its aim - to improve the essential and basic skills of theatre workers.
178 Working closely with the employers BECTU has identified and trained five workplace based Union Learning Representatives at ENO, whose role is to deliver advice and support to their colleagues, in particular those who may have had only minimal involvement in formal learning previously. Working with the individual the learning representative assesses learning needs and with the project team devises a training programme appropriate to that person's needs. Through the Union Learning Fund the project funds courses for learners at ENO which can fit flexibly around the demands of home and work.
179 An application has now been submitted to the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) for continued project funding and if successful, the TOSCA Project (Training Opportunities for Skills, Confidence and Achievement) has set the following major objectives for year:
- Bringing on board new theatre employers as partners
- Creating a larger network of trained Union Learning Representatives in the Arts & Entertainment division
- Delivering Learning opportunities to a minimum of 85 workers in the Arts & Entertainment sector
- Piloting "English as a Second Language" courses in the workplace
- Developing a workplace Collective Learning Fund at English National Opera
- Developing a model time off agreement for Learning Representatives with ENO
180 As the first learning partnership project between a union and a major employer in the cultural sector, TOSCA project is generating a great deal of interest. BECTU will be disseminating the results to the sector and using the lessons learned and the models developed to assist in the future expansion of the project.
Theatre SafetyNET
181 Another new venture for the Union is this �Partnership at Work� project funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Along with the lead partners S4T (Scottish Theatres Technical Training Trust), BECTU will be delivering support, advice and training to theatre employers and employees throughout Scotland with the aim of introducing, over the space of two years, fully functioning workplace joint health and safety committees and improving the culture of health and safety generally in the theatre sector.
182 It is early days for the two year project, but it is hoped that the models developed can be disseminated and rolled out to the wider cultural industries.
Training policies agreed with employers
183 As part of the major renegotiation of the BECTU/TMA national agreement in 2000 a joint training policy was agreed which will form the basis of a TMA/BECTU joint working party on training which will be convened in spring 2001.
184 The Joint Training Policy BECTU has with PACT is now somewhat out of date and it is hoped to enter into discussions with them later this year with a view to updating and reaffirming our joint commitment to lifelong learning.
185 BECTU has been involved in a joint working party on training with the Society of London Theatres for the past 12 months. A high proportion of the work of this group has been around agreeing job specifications for the workforce. Now that this work is almost complete, the group will turn its attention to agreeing, prioritising and resourcing specific training provision for the sector.
Promoting NVQs
186 In recognition of the work that the union has undertaken in terms of promoting and advising on NVQs, the DfEE has selected BECTU along with two other trade unions for a high profile pilot project around the promotion of NVQs by learning representatives.
Guide for Union Learning Representatives
187 Along with Metier (the National Training Organisation for arts and entertainment) and the other FEU trade unions, BECTU was a partner in the production of a comprehensive guide for union learning representatives in the cultural industries - Collective Wisdom - which we have made available to all our learning representatives and Skillsbase Advisers.
Future priorities
Network of Learning Representatives
188 Research undertaken by the TUC has demonstrated the value to unions of introducing Learning Representatives at branch and workplace level, not only in terms of the direct impact they have on improving access to lifelong learning for members but also in terms of recruitment and retention. New legal rights to time off for these representatives are now in the pipeline and BECTU needs to encourage all branches to elect learning representatives, and to provide appropriate training and support for them.
Agreements on training with employers
189 Building on the progress we have made in this area the union will seek to reach agreement with all major cultural sector employers on training and lifelong learning. The major issues that these should address are:
- Prioritising and identifying training needs
- Access to training and development opportunities
- Resourcing training
- Facilities for learning representatives
The Training Committee
190 The Training Committee has representation from all divisions of the union, and is responsible for advising on BECTU lifelong learning policy and practice. It is a valuable resource for the union in terms of the expertise and experience its membership can call upon. The Training Committee are currently formulating a draft BECTU Lifelong Learning policy to be put to annual conference 2001 and a strategic plan for the year, which will include a programme of events and targets for an increase in learning activities in all areas of the union's work.
Equality
191 The BECTU Equality Committee has continued to meet regularly over the course of the year despite unavoidable official shortages during this time. Despite this lack of continuity the Committee have continued to send delegates to a number of conferences and to therefore maintain the BECTU profile in this are of work. Members of the Committee have represented the union at the Women's TUC, and national conferences on Equal Pay and Domestic Violence.
192 From the beginning of this year new arrangements have been put in place, and there is now a single named official - Trish Lavelle, Training Officer, providing support to this committee. The recent changes offer BECTU an opportunity assess our equality work, and its impact both internally and externally, and to agree on future policies and priorities, and in particular how to integrate the work of the Equality Committee into the work of BECTU's industrial divisions.
Proposition 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
Disabled Members' Network
193 The Disabled Members' Network suffered from the departure in mid-2000 of two officials who had serviced it, Freda Chapman and Amelia Gifford. In particular, the recommendations concerning disabled members arising out of the Equality+Diversity conference in November 1999 were not immediately followed up. These included procedures for ensuring that venues, hotels and restaurants used for BECTU conferences, meetings and events were as accessible as possible. These issues are now being tackled, and the Network is being serviced by the Administrative Officer, David Cormack.
194 Additional priorities have emerged. Nicola Dandridge from Thompsons has given several valuable briefings on the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (the DDA) to both officials and staff of BECTU, and the following paragraphs are indebted to her advice. The Disabled Members' Network has a key role in advising on and monitoring the actions required.
195 BECTU is already required by the DDA not to discriminate against disabled members in the provision of services. This means that all reasonable adjustments have to be made to take account of disabled members in such matters as accessible documents, access, and signage. By 2004 BECTU, like all property owners and occupiers, will also have to make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of property where these put disabled members at a substantial disadvantage. This will need to be borne in mind in premises planning and refurbishment from now on, whether BECTU relocates its head office or not.
196 Moreover, the union is expected to be reasonably pro-active in identifying the nature of the disabilities that members using its services may have. The Disabled Members Network is the obvious place to start this exercise, and at the time of writing members of the Network were being consulted on the format, content, distribution and objectives of a survey, to be launched through Stage Screen & Radio, aimed at gathering data on the extent and types of disability among members. Obviously this will provide only limited information about the existing membership: the union will also have to consider the types of disability future members may have.
197 The union needs to review the design of membership application forms and other forms needed to provide access to services, to ensure that they are available in alternative formats that may be needed by members or potential members with disabilities. (The membership survey should give some indication of which formats in particular are required.) Alternatives to ordinary telephones may be needed, such as Textphone. The accessibility of the journal and the website should also be examined. External providers of services to BECTU members should be asked to ensure that those services comply with the DDA.
198 It is worth noting that, curiously, trade union ballots fall outside the provisions of the DDA. The legal requirements of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 take precedence, so it would actually be unlawful to send, say, an industrial action ballot paper in videotape format.
199 The Disabled Members' Network is also to be consulted on guidance to be given to branches on the steps they might need to be made to ensure that disabled members are not disadvantaged in relation to branch activities. Because they are smaller and have more frequent contact with individual members, branches would be expected to have a clearer knowledge of disabled members and the adjustments they require. Branches would need to consider access in relation to meeting rooms they hire (particularly hotels and pubs), or facilities offered to them by employers. Their arrangements for branch elections and decision-making should be scrutinised.
Proposition 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
History Project
200 In March 2001 the History Project recorded its five-hundredth oral history interview with Lord Attenborough as the subject. The unique value of the archive of recording of industry veterans from across all grades and disciplines that has been established over the past fifteen years is becoming increasingly widely recognised, and a number of exciting developments are now on the horizon. In particular discussions with the University of East Anglia and the British Universities Film and Video Council about establishing suitable means of on-line distribution of material for academic use are at an advanced stage.