Stage, Screen & Radio - December/January 2015 - 5

Union diversity campaign succeeds
BECTU has welcomed Arts Council of England
chair Sir Peter Bazalgette's (right) statement on
8 December that future funding will depend on
a commitment to race diversity. BECTU has led a
Federation of Entertainment Unions campaign to

the economy of further cuts to
the BBC, which he said "creates
the capacity for high-quality
documentaries and other
programming that no other
country can even dream of. They
will kill the golden goose if they
cut back again," he said.
Labour MP Chris Bryant, who
has endured an extraordinary
campaign of smears and abuse
from News International papers,
said the "idea that the media
could NOT be an election issue is
incredible. They are an issue
because they have made it one.
"I don't believe in an owners'
press, a proprietors' press,
controlled by a few people," he
said. "I am determined that when
it comes to the election we will
have a different policy."
Natalie Fenton, professor of
media and a director of the
campaign group Hacked Off!,
added that the Leveson Inquiry
had shown how much fear was
spread among politicians by the
big media. The political parties
"have not hindered the
development of the media
monopolies. There is still a great
deal of anxiety because they fear
how they will be reported in the
run-up to the election. That is
why media ownership is at the
core of everything. I think this is a
doorstep issue. We should force
the parties to address it in their
own manifestos."

press the creative industries funding bodies to
reveal the equality monitoring data of each of its
client companies in order to hold them publicly
accountable, and to push the pace of change. Talks
with ACE on diversity will take place in January.

It's back! Move on Up North,
Wednesday 25 March
The tenth Move on Up event, to
assist black, Asian and minority
ethnic workers to gain better
contacts with broadcasting
executives, will take place at
the BBC in MediaCity, Salford,
on Wednesday 25 March.
As the journal went to press,
BECTU and its partners the BBC
and Creative Skillset were
working to put together the
line-up of executives and to
bring on board other
broadcasters, production
companies, agents and facilities
companies, particularly those
based in the north of England.
It is more than a decade since
BECTU first devised the concept.
BAME union members had
indicated that one major
problem was lack of contacts in
an industry where too many jobs
were won on the basis of who
you know. In the last few years,
particularly since the Equality
Act 2010 abolished specific
requirements on public sector
bodies regarding race equality,
ethnic minority employment in
film and broadcasting has fallen
off a cliff: down by nearly a third
in television over six years to
2012 and by half in film.
BECTU therefore welcomes
the renewed partnership with

the BBC and Creative Skillset
to deliver the tenth, free, event.
On the day, the BAME workers
taking part will have 20 minute,
pre-arranged one-to-one
meetings with the executives
and running alongside there will
be a series of workshops to give
useful professional advice. This
is not an event for students or
wannabes, it is for those who
already have a track record or
who are qualified and ready for
their first job.
BECTU diversity officer Janice
Turner commented: "After a
two-year break, while we
successfully put pressure on key
funding bodies in the industry
to take further action on race
equality, we are delighted to be
back organising Move on Up
North. We have had many
enquiries over the last two years
about when the next one will be.
"In mid-January we will be
publishing the line-up of
executives and the planned
deadline for applications will be
early March.
In the meantime if you would
like to ensure that you are sent
the details at the first
opportunity register at https://
mou-north-pre-register.
eventbrite.com.

ITV 60th anniversary
Did you work on the permanent staff of any of the original
independent television companies between 1955 and 1968?
Dependent on the response, it is hoped to have a mid-day
gathering (of necessity on a self-funding/paid ticket basis)
somewhere in central London on Tuesday 22 September 2015
to mark and celebrate ITV's diamond anniversary.
Cost will depend on possible sponsorship, the venue (which
will be determined by the numbers involved) and negotiated
food and drink prices.
To assess the initial support, please indicate your committed
interest by emailing Bill Rawcliffe at bill@sheppertonsound.plus.
com, giving your name, the company you were with, full contact
details and whether you would require one or two tickets.

December/January 2015 Stage Screen & Radio

Low pay
progress
BECTU's campaign to win
payment of the Living Wage
for its lowest paid members
received a boost last month
when the Curzon chain
became the first cinema
employer to agree to pay it
from January.
Over at Picturehouse
Cinemas, workers across the
company launched a petition
on 4 November calling on
their company to pay the
Living Wage. About 3,000
front of staff are employed
at 80 cinemas across the
country on zero hours
contracts on a standard
hourly rate of £6.80. The
workforce compares this to
the cost of a cinema ticket
- £9 - and a soft drink and
popcorn at £7.50.
By early December nearly
8,000 people had signed the
petition. BECTU is now
preparing formal claims for
recognition at three more
branches of Picturehouse.
The company argues that it
can't afford pay increases,
despite the fact that last year
their operating profits rose
by 31% to £1.3-million. The
parent company, Cineworld,
made profits of £31-million.
Comments left by those
signing the petition included:
"We need trade unions more
than ever"; and "Sounds
cynical, but in financial terms,
lower wages mean lower tax
receipts, so a faltering
economy - also by the way
austerity leads to deeper
recession: just saying."
To sign the petition go to
https://campaigngoingtowork.
org.uk/petitions/
picturehouse-cinemas-payyour-staff-a-living-wage?
Please encourage all your
friends and colleagues to
sign it as well.

5
https://mou-north-pre-register.evenbrite.com https://mou-north-pre-register.evenbrite.com https://mou-north-pre-register.evenbrite.com https://campaigngoingtowork.org.uk/petitions/picturehouse-cinemas-pay-your-staff-a-living-wage?
Stage, Screen & Radio - December/January 2015

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