Association of Broadcasting Staff on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs (ABS) was a British
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
.
The organisation was founded in 1945 with the merger of the
BBC Staff (Wartime) Association and the
Association of BBC Engineers to form the BBC Staff Association. It was regarded as a non-political organisation for employees of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, but despite challenges from various trade unions, it remained the primary association of BBC employees. In 1946,
Leslie Littlewood was elected General Secretary, a post he was to hold until 1968.
Asa Briggs
Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...
, ''The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: Volume IV: Sound and Vision'', pp.124-125
With the creation of
ITV, the association aimed to expand its remit to cover the new broadcaster, and accordingly renamed itself the Association of Broadcasting Staff (ABS) in 1956. This was unsuccessful, but the ABS was recognised by the
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" ( ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ITA existed from 1954 un ...
.
In 1963, the ABS finally affiliated to the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...
(TUC), and was able to normalise its relations with other TUC members. It was renamed the Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs in 1974.
In 1972,
Tony Hearn became General Secretary, and under his leadership, the union began negotiations with the
National Association of Theatrical and Kine Employees. The two unions finally merged in 1984 to form the
Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance
The Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance (BETA) was a short-lived British entertainment trade union. It was founded in 1984 with the merger of the Association of Broadcasting Staff and the National Association of Theatrical Televisio ...
.
As of 1982, the union had a membership of 15,510, and published a monthly journal, ''ABStract''.
General Secretaries
:1945: Tom Hobson
:1946:
Leslie Littlewood
:1968: Tom Rhys
:1972:
Tony Hearn
References
External links
BECTU History: ABSCatalogue of the ABS archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Catalogue of the ABS BBC archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Broadcasting in the United Kingdom
Communications and media organisations based in the United Kingdom
Entertainment industry unions
Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom
1945 establishments in the United Kingdom
Trade unions established in 1945
Trade unions disestablished in 1984
Trade unions based in London
{{UK-trade-union-stub