Stage, Screen & Radio - October/November 2014 - 7

Letters
Please post, email or fax your letters to The Editor, Stage Screen & Radio, 373-377 Clapham Road, London SW9 9BT
020 7346 0900 fax 020 7346 0901 email editor@bectu.org.uk bectu@twitter

Calling for a new approach

hilst conveying sincere
thanks to the 1091
BECTU members who
voted for me in the presidential
election, and to the 672 LPD
members who elected me to
the NEC, with sadness I resigned
from the NEC after its first
meeting on 8 June.
In my opinion the NEC was
and is leading a retreat on
several fronts, all ultimately
stemming from the financial
crisis, and I chose not to
endorse those retreats by
remaining on the committee.
The fronts are as follows:
the Tory party has promised
to attack (if they win the 2015
general election) 'paid time off'
for staff reps to carry out union
duties, and the 'check-off' system
whereby the employer deducts
union subs from members'
wages and sends it to the union.
Also the deficit in the pension
scheme for BECTU's own staff is
increasing, despite substantial
extra payments being made to
reduce it. This effect is related
to low gilt yields, which are low
because interest rates are low.
And interest rates are low
because of the financial crisis.
My main regret is not acting
sooner, as the NEC had
followed procedure; it had
authorised the General
Secretary to sound out a
merger with a specific other
union, and an outline
announcement had been made
at the Eastbourne conference.
However, when the details
emerged on 8 June I realised

I could not support the plan
for the following reasons:
1. It would be a disservice to
the (mainly freelance) members
I represent: BECTU's freelance
membership is currently
around 11,000 out of a 23,500
total. The other union has
115,000 members; our
freelance membership profile
will fall from 48% to 9%. Also,
to follow the money, at present
LPD alone contributes around
28% (more than £1.25-million)
to BECTU's gross subscription
income, which buys a measure
of internal influence and
respect which has not always
been enjoyed, and is highly
likely to diminish. In
representation, the two
production divisions now have
six seats between them on the
BECTU NEC, the staff divisions
have seven. By contrast, BECTU
as a whole is likely to have as
few as four seats on the
merged union's executive.
I have no quarrel with the
other union, which is why I am
not naming it. My quarrel is
with the BECTU NEC for trying
to run away and hide from the
crisis instead of joining forces
with others in our industry to
fight it.
2. BECTU should not walk away
from our sister unions in the
Federation of Entertainment
Unions but forge a united front
with them. The question is not
whether we are a servicing or
organising union: we must
become a fighting union.
A decade ago I had some

Resignation: Peter Cox (left). Responsibilities: Gerry Morrissey (right)

sympathy with those brave
conference delegates who
urged disaffiliation from Labour
at a time when that party in
office was waging illegal wars
and trampling on civil liberties.
I witnessed the fiery conference
speeches delivered against
them from the BECTU top table.
On 8 June it was truly
astonishing to observe the
calmness with which the NEC
was willing to wave goodbye to
Labour Party affiliation because
the other union has civil
servants in membership.
BECTU should support an
idea whose time has come:
the formation of a new workers'
party, committed to achieving
universal workers' rights, and
to the transformation of our
industry and the wider national
and international political
economy, along the lines of
public service, public
ownership, public control,
peace and sustainable
development.
As a first step the visceral
hostility towards the NUJ, most
toxic in the BBC division, must stop.

3. Now the personal: I have for
some years sounded the alarm
about the seriousness of the
financial crisis in these pages
and elsewhere, but have
attempted to use humour to
get the message across
(financial markets as the Death
Star, Keynesian economists as
mermaids). In that time not one
senior figure in BECTU, official
or member, has approached
me in support and agreed
that something must be done.
I realise now that my alarms
were regarded as a bit of
political entertainment, as if to
say "there he goes again, ignore
the old leftie, he's harmless."
I'm not prepared to play that
'harmless' role. Actually it's not
so harmless to those I
represent. Many of them may
dislike the details when
eventually they see them, but
if I were to remain on the NEC
they could say "I don't like it, but
Peter endorses it so I suppose
it's all right..."
The crisis will not blow over.
There is no safe haven.
Peter Cox

MARK DIMMOCK

BECTU General Secretary Gerry Morrissey replies:
It was with deep regret that I accepted Peter's
resignation from the NEC.
BECTU is lucky to have no mortgage on our
head office, no debts (pension scheme
excluded) and our monies on deposit protect
the interests of the union and its members.
However like most organisations we have an
increasing deficit in our staff pension scheme.
Despite changes to the benefits of the scheme
on a number of occasions the deficit has
continued to grow and an increasing amount

October/November 2014 Stage Screen & Radio

of the union's budget goes to servicing the
deficit. It is my responsibility to ensure that
in the event of the finances of the scheme
continuing to deteriorate the union must have
a Plan B in order to protect the service and
the benefits we provide to members. Any Plan
B would need to protect BECTU's identity, the
benefits to members and the employment of
our staff.
I need to stress that the members will make
the final decision on any merger and we are

not in a position where we have to decide
on this now or in my view any time soon.
The NEC understand fully our responsibility
to members and staff and authorised me to
work on a merger with another union in case
it is needed in the future. Unfortunately Peter
could not accept the democratic decision of
the NEC and chose to resign from the
Committee, which was regrettable. His
contribution will be missed but the union
will carry on business as normal.

Stage, Screen & Radio - October/November 2014

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