BECTU NEC Report to 2004 Conference appendix A: Propositions carried and remitted at the 2003 Conference

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Propositions carried

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Proposition 5/03 (AP3) Venue of conference

That this annual conference recommends that the National Executive Committee considers a venue outside England for the 2005 conference.

National Executive Committee's response: The Administrative Officer has conducted extensive enquiries and investigations about the possibility of holding the union's 2005 rules revision and annual conference in the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and North Wales. Most of the costings that have come in regarding this have been unaffordable.  However, provisional arrangements have been made to hold the union's 2005 conference in Ennis, County Clare.

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Proposition 6/03 (AP15) Head office

That this annual conference believes that the new HQ in Clapham should be better exploited as a benefit to the membership. The National Executive Committee should consider encouraging ordinary members to meet there socially throughout the year, perhaps with one large organised annual event.

National Executive Committee's response: Committees have been encouraged to contact head office in respect of any social function that they wish to hold. It should be noted that the conference rooms at head office are heavily used and that there is a well-equipped members' room complete with online IT facilities.

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Proposition 11/03 (AP13) Membership records

That this annual conference instructs the National Executive Committee to place a greater priority on the quality of the union's membership records and administration, to ensure that the union retains its existing membership, recruits new members, and receives its due income.

National Executive Committee's response: The NEC supported this proposition on the grounds that it is existing policy. A branch circular was issued and an article placed in the union's journal encouraging branches to give details about any difficulties they were encountering. There has been almost no response to this. We are hoping by the middle of 2004 to have developed an online application form for freelance members.

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Proposition 12/03 (SRS 2) Definition of paid-up member

That this annual conference in a special rules session approves the following alteration to rule under rule 45(b):
Rule 11(a)
Delete "eight weeks" and insert "six months"; delete last sentence. Consequentially,
in rule 12(a) delete "eight weeks" and insert "six months", and
in rule 12(b) delete "eight weeks but less than"

National Executive Committee's response: This proposition was put into effect immediately following the union's 2003 annual conference. Unfortunately, when the amended rules were included with the 2003 reprint of the rule book, one clause of rule 12 (regarding subscription arrears) was omitted inadvertently. The omission was reported to members in the February 2004 issue of Stage Screen & Radio as an erratum, and will be rectified with a syntactical correction in future reprints of the rules. The first three clauses of rule 12 (the remaining clauses are unaltered) should read:

12 Arrears

(a) A member who is six months or less in arrears shall be entitled to financial benefits subject to the deduction of the amount of arrears owing.

(b) A member who is over six months in arrears shall be disqualified from any benefit or service until he/she has cleared those arrears.

(c) A member who remains more than six months of arrears shall be liable to have his/her membership terminated through lapsing.

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Proposition 14/03 (AP22) Political fund

That this annual conference notes that the Labour government:

1. is involved in an increasing number of confrontations with public sector workers seeking better pay and conditions;
2. is continuing to pursue policies of privatisation and cuts, and ignoring popular demands for return of services such as the railways to democratic control;
3. has failed to improve educational standards while making it harder for working people to get access to a full education;
4. has continually sought advisors from the ranks of wealthy employers, rather than from representatives of the unions that fund the Labour Party.

Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Committee:

1. to look for alternative electoral organisations and individuals that are prepared to represent the interests of union members in Parliament;
2. to report to members on what such organisations and individuals exist;
3. to offer members the chance to vote on whether BECTU should continue with affiliation to the Labour Party or should open up its political fund to support those organisations and individuals that better represent our members whether on a national or local level.

National Executive Committee's response: This is reported on in detail in the main body of the NEC's report to conference.

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Proposition 15/03 (AP21) Labour Party and Northern Ireland

That this annual conference calls on the Labour Party to acknowledge the right of anyone to be a member of the Labour Party, and no longer to discriminate against people living in Northern Ireland.

National Executive Committee's response: The General Secretary wrote to the Labour Party following the union's 2003 annual conference and our delegates to the Labour Party conference were instructed to support any propositions that helped achieve the objective of the proposition passed at BECTU's conference. The Labour Party constitution was subsequently changed so as to permit membership in Northern Ireland.

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Proposition 16/03 (AP23) Communications Bill

That this annual conference deplores the continuing trend to cut back on the quality and quantity of programme-making in the regions, and is particularly concerned that this will accelerate with the implementation of the Communications Bill.

National Executive Committee's response: The NEC regarded this proposition as a statement that formalised our existing policy and concerns and the union has campaigned heavily since annual conference 2003 to try and tackle the concerns outlined in this proposition.

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Proposition 17/03 (AP26) Working time

That this annual conference instructs the National Executive Committee to commission research on the ways employers seek to avoid their obligations to provide paid holidays from day one of employment and to monitor the methods used in 2003 to circumvent the 48 hour week.

National Executive Committee's response: The following is the text of a memorandum submitted by AGS Martin Spence to the NEC, which the NEC believes discharges its duty in respect of proposition 17/03:

I believe it has been taken as read that this proposition refers specifically to freelance workers and not to permanently-employed staff.

During the debate on this proposition at Conference, it was argued from the platform that the methods used by employers to avoid their obligations on paid holidays, and on the 48 hour week, are well known to us, although the NEC had no fundamental objection to the spirit behind the proposition.

Our experience since May has not led me to change this view.

Paid holidays

On paid holidays one employer, the BBC, has sought to deny holiday entitlement to Schedule D freelances by denying that they are "workers" for the purposes of the relevant legislation. The BBC successfully ran this argument at an Employment Tribunal in the Clive North case. We have responded pragmatically, and advise Schedule D freelances not to initiate holiday pay claims against the BBC unless they are on contracts of at least 2 weeks' duration.

However most employers deal with holiday entitlement by means of a single, standard - and apparently lawful - approach which they adopt towards Schedule D and PAYE freelances alike. They
(a) refuse to grant paid time off during the course of freelance contracts, as permitted by the Working Time Regulations, and
(b) provide written contracts which break down the agreed rate of pay into "basic" and "holiday pay" components, a practice which Employment Tribunals have generally seen as acceptable.

Where employers fail to provide suitably-worded written contracts, we have successfully won holiday pay for members which they would not otherwise have received. Our standing advice to freelance members is to pre-empt the employer's paperwork by sending written confirmation of the booking which states that the agreed rate of pay does not include consolidated or "rolled up" holiday pay.

At root paid holiday is not complicated. Employers do not use a wide variety of different ruses to avoid their obligations. Most of them use the same, tried and tested approach. When occasionally an employer is careless with the wording of their contract, we punish them.

I can therefore see no purpose in commissioning research on this topic, as called for by the proposition, when the methods used by employers regarding paid holidays are already well known to us.

48 hours

The proposition calls on the union to monitor methods used in 2003 to circumvent the 48 hour week. Again, the wording implies a complexity which, in my experience, does not exist.

There is in fact no need for employers to "circumvent the 48 hour week" when the UK implementation of the Working Time Directive is so weak. All employers have to do in order to free themselves of any obligations is to follow a simple procedure, requiring the worker to sign an "opt out" waiver. This is standard practice, and for freelances is regularly required as a condition of gaining employment.

There is no secret about this. Indeed PACT openly circulates a standard "opt out" clause for Producers to insert into their contracts.

We have submitted to the European Commission many examples of freelance contracts including versions of this clause, as part of our evidence in favour of ending the UK opt-out. We have also raised the matter with the DTI to support our argument for bolstering the status of "workers" i.e. freelances who fail to qualify as employees.

I suggest that the key here is to achieve a change in the law, rather than simply monitoring a situation which is well established and which will not change unless and until the law changes.

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Proposition RP9 BBC Resources Ltd

That this annual conference deplores the terms, conditions and contractual basis on which BBC Resources Ltd has been recruiting assistant operational trainees. Through the use of two years contracts, inadequate salaries and non-standard conditions of service the BBC is exploiting its position as a major broadcaster and has the potential to lower conditions in the wider UK broadcasting sector.

National Executive Committee's response: The NEC noted that whilst the consequences of this proposition could, in time, affect other divisions of the union, it should nonetheless in the first instance be referred to the BBC Divisional Committee.

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Proposition 23/03 (AP9) Health and safety

That this annual conference examine the financial possibility of appointing a dedicated full time Health and Safety official, and look into the setting up of a safety reps network or similar, where union safety reps in different branches can contact each other, share resources, and support one another in taking a more proactive rule in health and safety in our industry.

National Executive Committee's response: The financial constraints imposed upon the NEC as a result of the property project have meant that it has not been possible to give proper consideration to this proposition since last year's annual conference. If it had been considered it would have had to be rejected on financial grounds. The NEC intends to keep this as an agenda item and to review it in a more objective fashion when the property project has come to some conclusion.

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Proposition 24/03 (SRS 1) Student membership

That this annual conference in a special rules session approves the following alteration to rule under rule 45(b):
Rule 6(c)
Delete subclause (i) in its entirety and substitute:
"In furtherance of rule 5(d) the union shall endeavour to support relevant sector skills councils, training providers and students by supplying, so far as resources permit, trade union and industry information and opinion, and by encouraging students to take an active interest in the work of the union and to become members when they complete their courses."

National Executive Committee's response: This proposition was put into effect immediately following the union's 2003 annual conference.

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Proposition 25/03 (AP10 and AP11 composite) Training

That this annual conference welcomes the implementation of the ACAS guidelines for the time off and training of Union Learning Representatives. Conference instructs the National Executive Committee further to investigate innovative ways of implementing the new guidelines into the working lives of freelances in our industries. Conference therefore resolves to support and encourage the learning agenda in the following ways:

• to seek to include provision for Union Learning Reps in all existing and future recognition agreements;
• to encourage the negotiation of learning agreements at BECTU recognised workplaces;
• to strongly encourage all committees of the union to include education and training on every agenda.

National Executive Committee's response: This is reported on in the Training and Education sections of the NEC's report to conference 2004.

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Proposition 27/03 (AP6) Women's working committee

That this annual conference calls for a women's conference to be held within six months to encourage women members to become activists, and to discuss the feasibility of asking the National Executive Committee to form a women's working committee in line with the disability and black members' working committees.

National Executive Committee's response: This is reported on in the Equality section of the NEC's report to conference 2004.

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Propositions remitted

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Proposition 18/03 (AP24) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

That this annual conference notes the threat of privatisation that GATS poses to our public services including the broadcasting industry. Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Committee to pursue a vigorous campaign against GATS and to send a delegation of BECTU members to the 2003 European Social Forum as part of that campaign.

National Executive Committee's response: This proposition was remitted because the NEC disagreed with the analysis of GATS as set out in the proposition and did not wish to send a delegate to the various forums, and although work has continued on GATS since the union's 2003 annual conference, there has been a greater focus on the possible creation of a cultural instrument which would take audio/visual out of the GATS process and to lodge it as an international agreement with UNESCO. It remains to be seen what progress would be made in this area.

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Proposition 20/03 (AP20) Northern Ireland

That this annual conference instructs the National Executive Committee to give equal access to services from the union at national level by setting up an office in Northern Ireland, as soon as funds allow it.

National Executive Committee's response: Head office is liaising on this with branch representatives in Northern Ireland.

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Proposition 21/03 (AP12) Stage Screen & Radio diary

That this annual conference recommends that the union journal Stage Screen & Radio should include a monthly events diary where branches and committees could post notice of scheduled meetings; alternatively such information could be included in appropriate newsletters such as the BBC Informer.

National Executive Committee's response: Head office has continued to assist branches in setting up their own websites under the general BECTU policy, although a great deal more work needs to be undertaken in this area.

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