The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU), formerly the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union, is a former British trade union that became a sector of the

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 1 January 2017, following the transfer of engagements of BECTU to Prospect. It has approximately 40,000 members who work in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

, IT,

telecoms Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

and

interactive media Interactive media refers to digital experiences that dynamically respond to user input, delivering content such as Text (literary theory), text, images, animations, video, Sound, audio, and even Artificial intelligence, AI-driven interactions. O ...

History

BECTU was founded in 1991 with the merger of the Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians and 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 Television ...

, the history of which can be traced back to 1890. 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. BECTU's affiliations included the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

, the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation from the English and Welsh ...

Union Network International UNI Global Union, formally Union Network International (UNI), is a global union federation for the skills and services sectors, uniting national and regional trade unions. It has affiliated unions in 150 countries representing 20 million workers ...

, the General Federation of Trade Unions and the

Federation of Entertainment Unions The Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) is a joint representative body based in the United Kingdom, representing workers in TV, theatre, film, music, gaming, cinema, publishing, new media, professional football and other performing arts. The ...

. Gerry Morrissey was elected General Secretary in February 2007, after the position had been left vacant due to the death of Roger Bolton, who died from cancer in November 2006.

Merger into Prospect

BECTU announced in 2014 that it was in merger talks with the

trade union which represents

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administr ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

s and other specialists in both the public and private sectors in the UK. Prospect is not currently affiliated to any

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. At the Bectu Annual Conference held on 14 May 2016 it was agreed to ballot Bectu members on the proposed merger with Prospect. 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. BECTU became a sector of Prospect, with Morrissey continuing to lead the sector. In 2018, Philippa Childs took over as secretary of the sector.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1991:

Tony Hearn David Anthony Hearn (4 March 1929 – 31 December 2019), known as Tony Hearn, was a British trade union leader. Biography Hearn attended Trinity College, Oxford. He began working for the Association of Broadcasting Staff (ABS) in 1955, as assi ...

and

Alan Sapper Alan Sapper (18 March 1931 – 19 May 2006) was a British trade unionist. Biography Born in Hammersmith, west London, Sapper studied at the Latymer Upper School, then worked as a botanist at Kew Gardens, while studying with the University of Lo ...

:1991:

:1993: Roger Bolton :2007: Gerry Morrissey :2017:

Mike Clancy Cristopher J. Clancy (born September 9, 1924 – June 11, 1988), better known as Mike Clancy, was an American professional wrestler, sheriff and businessman. Clancy became a prominent performer throughout the National Wrestling Alliance from 1 ...

* :''*General Secretary of Prospect following the 2017 merger.''

Head of BECTU (after 2017 merger with Prospect)

:2017: Gerry Morrissey :2018: Philippa Childs

Presidents

: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

External links

bectu.org.ukCatalogue of the BECTU BBC archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collect ...

{{Portal bar, Organised labour Broadcasting in the United Kingdom Communications and media organisations based in the United Kingdom Entertainment industry unions Organisations based in the London Borough of Lambeth Stockwell Trade unions established in 1991 Trade unions in the United Kingdom 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions disestablished in 2017 Trade unions based in London