Unions representing non-fiction TV workers in Canada and the UK have joined forces to challenge poor safety and working conditions in the sector. The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) and BECTU prepared a joint statement of principles aimed at improving the situation.
The union proposals were presented to production and broadcast executives attending Realscreen, an industry conference that took place on 8-9 October in London. They warned workers on both sides at the Atlantic have reported concerns about unreasonable working hours, unpaid time and lack of safety in non-fiction/factual TV programme production.
“Right now, this is an unsustainable sector of the production industry,” said Carmel Smyth, national president of the Canadian Media Guild. “People are burning out and getting hurt. They’re telling us they want a voice and standards so they can earn a living making programming for years to come. We’re eager to sit down with production companies and discuss how to make it better.”
The principles presented by the two unions are modelled on a code of practice developed by BECTU in 2013.
BECTU’s Sharon Elliott said: “Factual production is an increasingly important part of UK, and now global, broadcast content and yet working conditions remain sub-standard. Excessive working hours, inadequate rest time and poor health and safety management continue to top the list of workers’ concerns here in the UK.”
The unions are calling on the industry to take measures including providing reasonable hours and time off and ensuring health and safety is “a top priority for each production.”