Received from: MU
The BBC is the single biggest employer of MU members in the UK and is in the unique position of supporting five full-time orchestras. The BBC orchestras alone employ more than 400 contract musicians and many hundreds more on a freelance basis. The BBC also employs and supports musicians and other performers working in all genres through its radio and television programming.
The freezing of the license fee and the reduction in BBC income over the past ten years has led to proposals to make job cuts in the BBC Singers, the BBC Orchestras and BBC Introducing as well as local news and programmes. It has also put salaried jobs at risk.
One of the most important elements of universality for the BBC is the fact that it ensures that arts and culture are available to everyone. It is essential that the BBC continues to be able to provide this access to a wide range of culture that the market may not provide for and which may not be viable on purely commercial terms.
Congress calls on the TUC to support the BBC license fee model and lobby for adequate funding for the BBC in order to secure its future and sustainable jobs for those who work for it.
Musicians’ Union
AMENDMENT
› Insert an additional sentence at the end of paragraph 1:
“The BBC is also an essential source of voice work, including through radio dramas, to many performers and audio artists. Providing vital income to highly trained but precarious workers who are too often struggling to maintain a living from the industry.”
Equity