BECTU's response to the Arts Council of England document "The next stage - Towards a national policy for theatre in England"
24 July 2000
The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) is the trade union recognised nationally for all non-performing grades of theatre staff. BECTU has over 5,000 members currently working in the theatre industry, many of whom have contributed to the union's response to the Arts Council of England's document "The Next Stage - Towards a National Policy for Theatre in England".
BECTU welcomes the initiative taken by the ACE in seeking to develop a National Theatre Policy and intends to make positive contributions to any process of change needed to ensure the future of the industry and greater security of employment for our members who work in theatres. BECTU agrees that "the status quo is not an option" and will be seeking to ensure that the best interests of BECTU members are taken into consideration and addressed during the policy development and beyond. We hope that the working life of all theatre employees will be enhanced as a consequence.
It is widely acknowledged that the theatre industry is in crisis, due largely to the chronic under-investment in the repertory sector and, in some instances, poor managerial practices. This lack of investment manifests itself across all parts of the industry and its impact is increasingly felt in the non-subsidised sector with many theatres dark for large parts of the year due to a lack of quality "product". The case for extra funding has been well made and is generally accepted. However, if extra funding is to be made available BECTU believes that theatres' accumulated deficits should be cancelled. This action should not be seen as an endorsement of poor management, but rather as an acknowledgement that theatres have been chronically underfunded since the 1980's, at least, and will be an action that allows all theatres to benefit from the national policy from a position of relative financial stability and equal opportunity.
BECTU also calls for a statutory obligation on all local authorities to fund the arts to an agreed and meaningful level. ACE statistics show a steady decline in local authority support for the arts as a whole, a trend that will probably continue without a statutory obligation. BECTU believes this initiative is essential to safeguard theatres' regional identity and to force all local authorities to acknowledge the social, cultural, educational and economic benefits that the theatre industry brings to local communities. A statutory funding obligation would also help to revitalise theatre-in-education activities which are so widely acclaimed and acknowledged, but are often the first casualty of funding cuts.
In rising to the challenge facing the industry BECTU agrees that substantial changes are needed to ensure an environment in which theatres thrive. In particular BECTU believes that as well as achieving financial stability within the sector, theatres must become more relevant and accessible to all the population. Most importantly for BECTU, the union will be seeking to ensure that the process of change is beneficial to our members who have provided a "silent subsidy" to the industry for many years while continuing to exhibit a loyalty and dedication in return for reduced job security and career development. In embracing change we do not wish to see the destabilising effects on industrial relations that awards of stabilisation funding has brought on occasion. BECTU continues to resist attempts to casualise the workforce and force our members to adopt flexible methods of work which do not recognise the balance between work and family commitments and consequently perpetuate a culture of low quality employment. BECTU also hopes that the required substantial change will ensure that theatres actively promote and practice equal opportunity policies in all areas of theatre employment so that the workforce will be representative of the community it serves. BECTU is extremely concerned at the use of "volunteers" to fill front of house jobs in a number of organisations. BECTU believes that these volunteers come from a small section of the community, i.e. those who can afford to work unpaid, and that their use restricts access of opportunity for the majority of the population.
BECTU recently organised a survey of members employed in regional theatres. This survey highlighted the main concerns of the membership: low levels of pay, an over-reliance on overtime working, increasing job insecurity, lack of pension provision, health and safety concerns in inadequate working conditions, and a lack of meaningful training provision. The root of all these concerns is, inevitably, associated with the lack of available finance. Any national policy for the theatre industry in general, or for regional producing theatres in particular, must begin to address these concerns in association with BECTU. The union will continue to represent the aspirations of its members, but the development of a national policy offers a good opportunity for employers to work with BECTU to formulate a coherent and effective national training policy which will enable BECTU members and the theatre industry to deliver ACE's vision of the future and enable all workers to respond to the challenges and opportunities afforded by emerging technologies. BECTU has the training experience and expertise which should be used, in partnership with employers, to benefit all those who work in the industry. Theatres now need to recognise their responsibility to provide proper employment opportunities that encourage structured career development.
BECTU acknowledges that many in the theatre industry have acknowledged the need for change but is concerned that this need is interpreted as being a need for a more flexible theatre network. While the Arts Council does not underestimate the attitudinal shift required to develop a more flexible theatre network, BECTU members will be more concerned with the realities of any flexibilities than with attitudes. Theatres must be wary of the consequences of out-sourcing any of their core activities. Experience has shown that this can be more expensive, less efficient, and lead to a loss of managerial control.
BECTU is also concerned that the development of a national policy could lead to theatre closures with consequent staff redundancies, as well as the loss of community assets. BECTU believes that all theatres should have the opportunity to benefit from adequate funding levels and a well-developed national policy. If agreed and understood criteria are used to make comparative judgements on the performance of theatres, local communities should not suffer from a failure to achieve these criteria. Responsibility must rest with the decision-makers, the theatre board, who must be accountable to the local community and ultimately to the Regional Arts Boards. To ensure that the Regional Arts Boards are representative of the areas they cover, BECTU calls for increased trade union representation on their Boards.
It must be in the interests of everyone associated with the industry to develop a policy that seeks to ensure that theatre is more relevant and more accessible to all sections of the population. BECTU fails to see how making adjustments in the allocation of existing investment will reach new audiences, create better resourced and experimental work, improve access or increase opportunities for theatre's role in education if any theatres are closed or scaled-down through the implementation of a national policy. This policy should be concerned with development and increased opportunities rather than contraction and restriction of access. BECTU is also concerned that a mixed economy of in-house, touring, and brought-in work could compromise the artistic integrity of local theatres and result in a reduction in the number of technical and production staff employed in theatre. These grades of staff are already employed in fewer numbers than ever and further reductions appear to contradict the aim of ensuring that talent is nurtured. BECTU believes that any further reduction in permanent employment in these grades of staff is unacceptable.
Our submission is based on our members' experiences and aspirations. BECTU will welcome an opportunity to continue to contribute to this process of positive change and looks forward to taking an active role in developing a national policy which will benefit all workers and communities within the theatre industry.