There are some important changes coming to crew contracts. Your contracts are dictated by a set of agreements between PACT and BECTU. The TV Drama agreement is currently being renegotiated, and the outcome will directly effect the hours you do, the pay your receive, and how the productions you work on are scheduled.
The current agreement is set to expire on the 1st September and negotiations on new terms have been running for many months between PACT (representing producers and production companies) and BECTU crew members (representing their branches).
If we can't agree terms, the producers will be free to set their own terms in our contracts from September.
Ballot on the PACT offer
For this reason, it's of utmost importance that all crew members vote in an upcoming ballot. The ballot will be on new terms that PACT has put forward. The Art Department, Props and all other branches believe that PACT's proposal lacks clarity and has loopholes, allowing productions to avoid overtime payments and to schedule long hours.
4 Red Lines for Art Department and Props Branches
Most importantly, the offer does not meet the 4 red lines that the Art Department and Props branches has been fighting for on behalf of members.
Our 4 red lines are:
___Shorter working day: 9+1 hours working day
___No prep and wrap
___Paid bank holidays (T2 if worked, T1 if not worked)
___6th day paid at 1.5T for ALL crew
Art Department Meeting
The Art Department Branch will be holding a meeting on the 25th July for all members and non members. Please come along for more information on the ballot. We believe members should reject PACT’s offer as it continues to promote unnecessarily long hours and lack of fair pay for overtime.
In order to get better terms for Art Department, we need ALL Art Department crew to vote. We will let you know if Props organises a similar meeting.
Discount for joining BECTU
To vote, you will need to be a member of Bectu. You can currently join BECTU at a discount. (£7.50 per month). To get this discounted rate, please enter ‘TVDrama22’ in the job title field, with your job title, when you join online.
Important dates:
Wednesday 20th July - Ballot on PACT's offer for the TV Drama Agreement opens. (You have 10 days to vote). BECTU recommends a NO vote. (See below for details)
Wednesday 20th & 21st July - BECTU info zooms for all branches at 7.30pm
Monday 25th July - BECTU Art Department Branch meeting for Members and Non-Members to discuss the ballot and to recommend voting NO to the PACT offer
Friday 29th July - Ballot closes for votes.
