A review of 2024

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs looks back on 2024.

2024 brought significant challenges for many Bectu members and the creative industries. But it’s also been a year of important progress and I am optimistic about opportunities to drive real change for our members and the wider sector in 2025.

Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, published in October, represents the biggest change to workers’ rights in 50 years. However, it is early days yet and there is work to be done to clarify how some of the measures will apply to the creative sector and its workforce. We have been clear that freelancers must not be left out in the cold as the bill develops, and we’re continuing to lobby the government to appoint a dedicated Freelance Commissioner, to work with unions to champion the needs of the self-employed.

As the year draws to a close, I am thrilled that Bectu has been invited to sit on the government’s recently formed Creative Industries Taskforce, a testament to the strength and influence of our lobbying at the highest levels of government.

These opportunities to help directly inform government strategy are incredibly valuable and we do not take them lightly. I will be ensuring that Bectu members’ needs and concerns are high on the political agenda.

Bullying and harassment

Yet again, allegations of poor behaviour and abuse of power continued to plague the sector this year.

As the allegations mounted against MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace last month, I wrote for Broadcast about why standing by the same systems, policies and procedures for dealing with harassment won’t work, and why broadcasters and production companies must not put all the burden of calling out bad behaviour on freelancers.

We know, of course, that this unfair balance is perpetuated across the creative industries, not just in film and TV.

Bectu is committed to helping drive real and lasting progress on this issue. In November, we were joined by the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) and Can’t Buy My Silence for a timely webinar on tackling sexual harassment.

We have also taken steps as a union to improve the support and advice we offer members on these matters. Our new Sexual Harassment Support Service is available for every Bectu member, whether you are reporting something recent or historical. It’s staffed by a specially trained team who are here to listen to you and guide you through your options. We’ve also refreshed our guide for dealing with sexual harassment for creative industry workers.

While things can and have seemed incredibly bleak, there are important signs of progress. At the time of writing, CIISA is preparing to enter its operational phase next year. In our May survey, a huge 84% of creative industry workers told us the sector needs an independent body to investigate, report and prevent harassment. CIISA will be an independent, completely confidential service and we will continue to lobby industry to get behind this important initiative.

CIISA’s consultation on its ‘Standards’ is still open for feedback. The Standards will set out the minimum standards of behaviour expected across the UK’s creative industries to enable safe and inclusive working environments, and I encourage every Bectu member to have their say to ensure your experience and concerns are reflected.

Film and TV slowdown; Action for Freelancers

At the beginning of the year, as many Bectu members were still keenly feeling the impact of 2023’s US industrial action, I delivered a keynote address for the Royal Television society, where I called on the industry to do more to end the systemic ‘feast or famine’ nature of freelancing in television.

Many of you know just how prolonged an impact the US strikes have had on our industry, with our July research showing that more than half of the UK film and TV workforce were still out of work. And sectors such as unscripted TV, largely untouched by the strikes, continue to face real challenges, too.

Alongside raising awareness of how tough things have been for freelancers, we of course want to be solutions-focused, and since the strikes, we have been pushing the industry and holding talks with broadcasters to ensure they take their responsibility for their workforce seriously.

Bectu is part of a new collaboration borne out of these meetings – Action for Freelancers – which we’ll be working with in 2025 to deliver on the change that is so badly needed.

We continue to increase our presence at important industry events, ensuring that your interests are represented in the conversations that matter. For the first time, in 2024 we formally attended the Edinburgh TV Festival, where alongside meeting with lots of freelancers, we convened a panel with Directors UK, UKTV, Talented People and freelancers to discuss solutions to the freelancer crisis.

We also held another hugely successful Big Autumn Gathering for film and TV freelancers to network and discuss the industry’s pressing issues, including greater support for freelance parents and carers via our Lives Behind the Lens campaign.

And following years of hard work by the Intimacy Coordinators committee, this month we launched the UK’s first registry for intimacy coordinators, in collaboration with the BFI.

Expanding our footprint: fashion workers unite

We continue to grow our reach and membership in new and under-unionised sectors, too. This year, we have continued to welcome fashion creatives into Bectu, and the branch, Fashion UK, conducted its first state of the sector survey and have garnered some brilliant media attention.

Eight in ten fashion creatives told us they’ve been pressured to work for free, and just one in ten feel secure in their job. To help highlight these issues, the branch has some exciting plans to coincide with London Fashion Week in February 2025; watch this space.

If you know someone working in a creative, non-performance role in fashion, do let them know that Bectu is the union for them.

Standing up for the arts

In arts and entertainment, we launched a new pay and conditions agreement with the Independent Theatre Council. Administrative, technical, management and other in-house staff will now be covered by minimum pay rates, and we also agreed improvements to sick pay, parental leave, and redundancy pay for in-house staff at independent theatres across the UK.

We continue to support members impacted by the English National Opera’s new partnership with Greater Manchester. Bectu members and all those employed at the ENO have faced an uncertain couple of years amidst relocation plans and funding cuts, and while there is now some clarity for staff, we are continuing to work with the ENO to address a number of remaining concerns.

We have also continued to see impressive growth in our live events sector, launched a new live events hub, and reps have made brilliant inroads at some of the UK’s biggest festivals, with plans to focus on health, safety and worker welfare at festivals in 2025.

Public service broadcasting

Amidst further restructures and cuts at the BBC, we continue to make the clear the need for long-term, stable funding for the BBC that protects both jobs and services.

The new Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Lisa Nandy MP, has committed to continuing the BBC’s licence fee model until at least 2027. With funding options for the broadcaster due to be assessed during the next Royal Charter review, we have already begun discussions with government officials regarding the review, including on the need to prioritise and protect regional jobs.

Equality and diversity

We know that equality and diversity remains a significant issue in the creative industries, with minority groups often the hardest hit by industry ebbs and flows, and talent drains contributing to worsening diversity metrics.

Bectu’s LGBT+ Committee’s Big Gay Survey outlined challenges for LGBT+ creative industry workers, and it was great to see an increased presence of Bectu members at Pride events.

Looking ahead

As the year comes to a close, it was heartening to hear the Secretary of State acknowledge the enormous power imbalance between those who “run” the creative industries and those who work in them during a recent appearance in front of the House of Commons’ Culture, Media & Sport Committee.

As ever, in 2025 we will be working with industry and government on how our brilliant creative workforce can be better supported and protected from exploitative practices and industry turbulence.

Lastly, AI of course continues to be a hot-button issue and with the much-anticipated consultation on AI and the creative industries now open, we will be focusing on ensuring your needs and interests are accounted for.

Thank you to all our members for your ongoing support, and a special thank you to Bectu representatives, without whom we would not be growing and thriving.

Despite some very challenging circumstances for our members, we have finished another year of growth. You can check out Prospect and Bectu’s year in numbers below.

I wish you a happy festive season and look forward to working with you in 2025.