Stage, Screen & Radio - December/January 2015 - 18

Arts & Entertainment

West End pay deal agreed

B

ECTU members have voted overwhelmingly to
accept a pay proposal affecting the 40-plus
commercial theatres covered by the union's
agreement with the Society of London Theatre. The
ballot closed on 26 November and 79.6% of those
voting supported the proposal.
Technical, front of house and show staff working
on the musicals, straight plays and other
entertainment which make West End theatre such
a huge and profitable attraction, were voting on
proposals hammered out over more than 12 hours
at ACAS.
The increases will be triggered in two periods
over the next three years. Front of house staff,
grades 8 and 9, will receive a £1 per hour increase
from 1 October 2014 - 31 March 2016 followed by
56p per hour to 30 September 2017, while Grade
10 staff would receive 89p followed by 51p.
Technical and other staff would receive 4.5%
followed by 4%.
It was agreed that the pay awards for period
1 would be implemented from 1 December if
members voted to accept.
BECTU General Secretary Gerry Morrissey said:
"We are now on an irreversible path to all working
in the West End cultural sector receiving the London
Living Wage."
To illustrate the impact of the proposed increase
for front of house staff: in 2008 the London Living
Wage (LLW) was £7.45 an hour; the current rate for
an usher is £7.44. In October 2012 the LLW was
£8.30. Under the new agreement in effect the gap
between an usher's pay and the LLW will be
narrowed from six years behind to approximately
two years behind.
SOLIDARITY

Pat Styles, national official for the union's West End
branch, said: "I would also pay tribute to the solidarity
shown by our members working in technical grades
who compromised on their own pay increase in

order to help lower-paid colleagues working front of
house - I am incredibly proud of them for taking this
stand and I believe the message this outcome sends
out is clear and unequivocal: BECTU works in the
West End!"
He added: "This is a good result for all BECTU
members working in the West End, but it is
particularly good for those on the lowest pay levels,
as the increase in pay this deal brings will make a
real difference. The pay agreement is a sign of real
progress on pay for our members whether they
work fulltime, or on a show or casual basis."
The union's claim, submitted in July, was headlined
by calls for a 6% increase.
COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT

The review proposals also included some changes
to the collective agreement called the Green Book,
the majority of which are not considered
controversial. Full details were provided to
members in the ballot.
However BECTU is pleased to have secured a
restatement from the employers that technical
tasks are the responsiblity of BECTU grades as set
out in the SOLT/BECTU agreement. Employer
members of SOLT will be formally advised that the
use of assistant stage managers to do work which
falls to BECTU grades is prohibited.
LATE NIGHT TRANSPORT

Looking ahead to September 2015, and plans for the
24-hour tube on weekends, it is proposed that the
collective agreement be amended so that late night
transport would only be provided by the employer
"when reasonable means of transport are
unavailable."
BECTU believes that any questions which might
arise from this change can be dealt with
constructively. Both sides accept, for example, that
night buses are not a reasonable means of transport
in this context. l

All gain at
Glyndebourne
BECTU members at
Glyndebourne have voted to
accept a 2% 'no strings' pay
increase, which will apply to
both seasonal and
permanent staff.
The pay rise will come
into effect on 1 January and
reflects ongoing work by
the Glyndebourne branch
committee to represent the
interests of their members.
The fact that all staff will
benefit reflects a positive
shift in attitude from
management towards
employees who work
seasonally as well as those
who work on a full-time basis.
Management have
formally acknowledged that
future pay offers will be
extended equally to both
temporary and full-time staff.
National official Pat Styles
said: "I'm pleased that the
work we've undertaken in
developing the reps within
the branch is now paying
dividends. The outcome at
Glyndebourne is a testament
to the value of helping local
reps organise their
workplace and to supporting
them with reps training."
"The branch looks forward to
building on this success and to
increasing BECTU's
membership at Glyndebourne."

Globe win recognition

JANE HOBSON/ REX

Exhibition and tour guides at the historic Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on
London's South Bank are now represented by BECTU, following the signing
of a collective agreement last month.
The hugely popular venue, which accounts for 11% of all theatre-going in
London, has recently expanded with the construction of the new indoor Sam
Wanamaker Playhouse. Last year the venue saw a record 352,000 visitors to
its Exhibition and Tour.
The new agreement, with The Shakespeare Globe Trust, provides for
negotiations on pay and other terms and conditions of employment.
National official Gus Baker, who has worked with local representatives to
secure the agreement, said: "The Globe relies on a brilliant team of talented,
knowledgeable and hardworking tour guides to create revenue so that it can
continue to carry on its work. The vast majority of these guides are BECTU
members who love their work but want to make sure that they get a fair deal.
We're looking forward to productive talks to ensure that their contribution to
the Globe continues to be valued."

18

Drawing the crowds: Jamie
Wilkes and Simon Harrison in
Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors

Stage Screen & Radio December/January 2015
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