BBC Lay Reps blog

For the period April 2008 to April 2009.

Summary of meetings attended in my areas of responsibility.

Meeting	Quantity
NEC and F&GP	9
NJC	10
Joint Working Party: Policy Simplification	11
Recruitment Days/events	14
BBC Division	5
Nations and Regions SDC	4
Production SDC	3
DLMs (all areas)	6
LLMs (all areas)	12
Branch Committees (all areas)	10
BECTU Equality and Diversity Committee	3
BECTU DMNC and BBC DSF	12
Trade Union Disability Alliance	5
Conference/lobbying days	9
Courses	2
Personal Cases	45
Total	160

National Executive and Finance and General Purposes Committees

The NEC and F&GP are the places I represent BBC and outsourced members’ issues across our union. As said often before it is also the place from which we have access to Labour Ministers and MPs. The purpose of which, during the last year, has been primarily and, so far successfully, to stop top slicing of the licence fee. We managed to achieve this by lobbying ministers and MPs and by presenting credible alternatives.

National Joint Council – negotiating at national level

The NJC is the place from which BECTU successfully protects and extends BBC members’ terms and conditions. On the negative side this has largely been against, in the last year, managements’ overreaction to situations that the unions had warned them of. Namely ‘scandals’ largely caused by making experienced staff redundant and exploiting inexperienced workers in their place.

On the positive side, thorough joint working parties, we have been engaged with management in clarifying and simplifying BBC policies. There have been no loses so far in this process and some important gains: for example the timely resolution of member’s grievances and the up-dating of health and sickness policies so that they are distinct from disability policies. Further the BBC has undertaken to up-date it’s retention of disabled staff policy. Importantly they have said that they will include clear guidance on disability leave so that leave taken to undergo, the likes of chemotherapy treatment, could be recorded separately from sick leave so not using up precious paid absences

BECTU NJC’s continued ability to protect T&Cs, not to mention the pension, depends on the mandates from members and our ability to recruit them.

Recruitment

We have been trying different ways to recruitment members: recruitment walk rounds, recruitment desks, ‘Move On Up’ career days, flyer handouts, lunchtime workshops and chocolate fountains to name a few.

Almost 1 in 3 who work for the BBC are members of a union: considering what Thatcher managed to do to the trade union movement, this number is no mean feat. The BBC workforce is more diverse, in everyway, than it has ever been before and therefore we need to try new, diverse ways of recruiting. From experience there is no such thing as a wasted meeting, conversation or flyer: the only failure is when someone isn’t aware of BECTU!

Vision

At long last we near the end of the last round of redundancies with, for example, only 2 left under threat in Children’s. However budget cuts loom.

We wait with baited breath what the final outcome of the move north will be for those in scope in both Vision and FM&T. So far discussions have been constructive. However the question, will enough want to go? that should surely have been asked before the DG made any commitments, still hangs in the air.

FM&T

Positive meetings have been held concerning those who are in scope for the move to Salford and how flexible FM&T management are prepared to be – at least, in theory at this stage.

I&A

I&A management have worked well with us to avoid compulsory redundancies. I&A remains a highly motivated branch and will undertake their second learning at work day in May.

One of the most poignantly pleasurable experiences of the last year has been the recent TUPE ing into BBC I&A from BBC resources of 10 Current Ops staff. Though a review could mean cuts.

Elstree

BECTU has won freelance recognition at Elstree for those working on EastEnders. The 7 year campaign proves that it’s not the number who turn up at meetings that counts but the number who are made and kept aware of the campaign. Thanks must go to all involved, on all types of contract and from all grades who helped, for whom the right to trade union recognition was a no-brainer and a human right. Unfortunately, especially in the 21st Century, many of those who helped, staff and freelance alike, have expressed a wish to retain their anonymity.

Budget cuts are being made on EastEnders but those who work in the prop store have now been transferred to continuing staff contracts.

TV Training at Elstree is under threat again of being moved from Elstree, a perfect ‘campus’ site, to the cramped, noisy and chaotic W12, at large expense and for no other reason that the conveyance of management. The proximity of training to production offices will mean that training will be further interrupted by trainees pressurised into doing their jobs at the same time: multi-skilling at its most counterproductive!

Norwich

Compulsory redundancies have been avoided. HR & management have stuck to the agreement made concerning single person operation of the U-pod in their proposal for an ICAV.

Wales: Cardiff and Bangor

LLMs in Bangor have started to take place.

Cardiff remains a strong branch. The only redundancies have been voluntary, there are a few still at risk. However Cardiff, with its high membership, have the most effective weapon of all: a continued mandate for industrial action against any compulsory redundancies.

Diversity

I serve on BECTU’s Equality and Diversity Committee and as serve as chair of BECTU’s Disabled Member Network Committee. This committee acts a watch dog and advocate of BECTU’s work on disability issues. We do need to recruit new members by raising awareness that there is nothing wrong with being disabled.

It is very important that equality and diversity issues are embedded in all negotiations and to this end I am gratified by what we are achieving within the BBC’s Joint Working Parties on Health and on Maternity polices.