Bectu writes to the DCMS highlighting theatre employers’ concerns

Bectu has written to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport outlining concerns that were highlighted in a webinar with theatre employers.

Three polls took place during the webinar, which also included a Q&A session with shadow cultural industries minister Tracy Brabin.

• The first poll asked employers: Will changes to the Job Retention Scheme, ultimately, result in you having to make furloughed staff redundant? 74% of those on the call said yes.
• The second poll asked: Would you support a joint employer and unions coordinated industry wide call for government funding as the industry continues to understand how it will operate? 88% said yes.
• The final poll asked: Would you support industry-wide guidelines on returning to work? 96% of the group said yes.

In the letter Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said: “These three findings demonstrate that the industry is united in recognising the hurdles that it has to overcome to get back to work. We would urge you to take these considerations into account in any discussions and plans being devised for these industries.”

The letter also highlighted: “To attempt to open while these measures are in place is asking theatres to fail. As you can imagine, social distancing measures mean that these venues and organisations will be unable to sell the number of tickets needed for them to raise the revenue critical to sustaining their businesses.”

Childs urged the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, to work with the Chancellor to “put the measures into place that are desperately needed to ensure that the theatre industry and workforce can survive the crisis”.

And she also highlighted that clear communication is needed on plans for how the theatres and live events industries can return to work.

You can see her letter here.