Who are Bectu and what do we do?
Bectu is the union for creative ambition. We represent over 40,000 staff, contract and freelance workers in the media and entertainment industries.
Our members work in non-performance roles in live events, broadcasting, film and cinema, digital media, independent production, leisure, theatre and the arts.
Our members are ambitious, even when they face uncertainty and precarious conditions in their career. As a union, we’re ambitious, too. We will support members when something goes wrong at work and we’ll stand up for their rights and protect their jobs.
Whether you’re a staff member, worker or are self-employed we’re here for you at every step of your career – be it getting started in the creative industries, pushing for a promotion, or training for something new.
We can also help you with things outside of work – as a member you get exclusive access to financial and legal services, discounts on your energy bills, as well as a range of lifestyle benefits.
Our membership is growing and strengthening and this is vitally important in a time when the world of working is changing. Bectu has responded to the changes of an increasingly self-employed workforce and is the UK’s largest union for freelancers.
As a union we are dedicated to keeping pace with that change to ensure workers can thrive through this change instead of being left behind.
Support, grow, succeed
At Bectu, we advise, defend and support members if they have a problem at work. We also:
- negotiate pay and conditions with employers
- campaign for jobs and standards
- facilitate freelance members to organise across the industry on rates and agreements
- offer valuable benefits and services
- networking events and career development opportunities
We negotiate with employers across the creative industries, not just on pay and conditions but on a range of issues that affect our members’ working lives: career development, contracts of employment, hours, leave, maternity, pensions and bullying and harassment.
Campaigning
We are also an experienced campaigning union. We have campaigned successfully on a wide range of issues across the creative sectors from the long hours culture in the film and tv industry, increasing diversity within the theatre industry, harmonising pay for freelancers in major motion pictures and continuing our role as the largest union in the BBC to secure the best pay and terms and conditions for workers.
As part of Prospect union, Bectu is politically independent but this does not make us politically naive. Our independence means we can speak truth to power across the party political spectrum and ensure our members’ voices and interests are heard.
- government ministers and MPs
- consumer bodies
- employers
- industry and professional bodies
- the public at large.