Midlands cultural unions call for fair share of bailout and halt to redundancies

Bectu has joined the Musicians’ Union and Equity in calling for the West Midlands to get a fair share of the government arts support package money and for redundancies to be put on hold.

The iconic Selfridges building in Birmingham city centre, where arts cuts are hitting very hard.

Cultural unions in the region have come together through their Creative and Leisure Industries Committee to raise concerns about how the £1.57bn arts support package will help protect creatives’ jobs in the region.

Their statement said that even before COVID-19, the West Midlands fared poorly in terms of arts funding, receiving just £4.58 of public monies per head of population compared to £69 per head in London.

Speaking for the three unions, Stephen Brown of the Musicians’ Union said: ”Despite the cautious welcome cultural unions have given to the government’s arts support package, jobs cuts at local theatres like Birmingham Rep, The Hippodrome, Town Hall/Symphony Hall, and Coventry Belgrade are still happening…

“If this money is not actually also for the workers, but merely for buildings and organisational survival, then the government needs to extend its Coronavirus Job Retention and Self-Employment Income Support schemes for the sector, and plug the gaps to ensure we have the workers who are ready to pick up from where the industry left off in March 2020.”

TUC Regional Secretary Lee Barron said: “Let us be crystal clear – we’re in an emergency. Unions are willing to put their shoulder to the wheel, to do whatever it takes. We now need all stakeholders to come together to save our arts and culture.”

Birmingham Labour mayoral candidate Liam Byrne expressed his support for cultural workers across the region, and committed to raising their issues with the government.

He said: “Next year the eyes of the world will be on Coventry’s City of Culture, and then the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. But the government seems to have forgotten us. London already enjoys arts funding which is 15 times higher per person than the West Midlands. And now we’re being let down again.

“Our great institutions, large and small, need an urgent lifeline – and workers across the industry need a flexible furlough immediately.”