The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU), formerly the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union, became a sector of the Prospect trade union in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2017 following the merger of BECTU with Prospect. It has approximately 40,000[1] members who work in broadcasting, film, theatre, IT, telecoms, entertainment, leisure and interactive media.
 | |
| Merged into | Prospect |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
| Dissolved | 1 January 2017 |
| Headquarters | 100 Rochester Row, London, SW1P 1JP |
| Location | |
| Members | 40,000 |
| Affiliations | TUC, STUC, UNI, GFTU, ICTU, FEU |
| Website | bectu |
History
editBECTU was founded in 1991 with the merger of the Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians and the Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance, the history of which can be traced back to 1890.[2] In July 1995, the Film Artistes' Association (FAA), founded in 1927 as a trade union for film extras merged to become a sub-division of BECTU.[2]
BECTU's affiliations included the Trades Union Congress, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Union Network International, the General Federation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Entertainment Unions.
Gerry Morrissey was elected General Secretary in February 2007,[3] after the position had been left vacant due to the death of Roger Bolton, who died from cancer in November 2006.[4]
Merger into Prospect
editBECTU announced in 2014 that it was in merger talks with the Prospect trade union which represents engineers, managers, scientists and other specialists in both the public and private sectors in the UK.[5] Prospect is not currently affiliated to any political party.[6] At the Bectu Annual Conference held on 14 May 2016 it was agreed to ballot Bectu members on the proposed merger with Prospect.[7] It was announced on 30 August 2016 that BECTU members had overwhelmingly voted Yes to the merger with Prospect which took place on 1 January 2017.[8] BECTU became a sector of Prospect, with Morrissey continuing to lead the sector. In 2018, Philippa Childs took over as secretary of the sector.[9]
Leadership
editGeneral Secretaries
edit- 1991: Tony Hearn and Alan Sapper
- 1991: Tony Hearn
- 1993: Roger Bolton
- 2007: Gerry Morrissey
- 2017: Mike Clancy*
- *General Secretary of Prospect following the 2017 merger.
Head of BECTU (after 2017 merger with Prospect)
edit- 2017: Gerry Morrissey
- 2018: Philippa Childs
Presidents
edit- 1991: Tony Lennon
- 2010: Christine Bond
- 2014: Jane Perry
- 2017: Denise McGuire*
- 2018: Craig Marshall*
- 2020: Ann Jones*
- 2022: Eleanor Wade*
- *President of Prospect following the 2017 merger.
References
edit- ^ About BECTU home
- ^ a b "BECTU's History - BECTU".
- ^ BECTU. "BECTU News - Gerry Morrissey is new GS". Archived from the original on 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - UK - Broadcast trade union leader dies". 20 November 2006.
- ^ "Prospect and BECTU to explore merger options" Prospect, 24 November 2014
- ^ "About us Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine", Prospect, 29 November 2013
- ^ "Members to vote on Prospect merger" BECTU, 15 May 2016
- ^ "BECTU members back Prospect merger" BECTU, 30 Aug 2016
- ^ Goldbart, Max. "Bectu appoints Philippa Childs as first female head". Broadcast. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
