TV freelancers protest over exploitation

The nation’s TV freelancers have joined forces with veteran programme-makers to condemn draconian working practices, keeping the industry’s brightest young sparks from gaining a toehold on the broadcasting ladder., The TV Wrap group – also known as the Television Workforce Rights Advocacy Petition, consists of 1,400 freelance runners, cable-bashers and researchers, collectively taking a stand against workplace exploitation at the hands of budget–strapped production companies., Mostly anonymous, the group describes themselves “as a small collective of TV freelancers,” fed up with sought-after work experience roles being used as an economic buttress to prop up the industry., In particular, the 1,400 freelancers (the number of petition signatures at the time of writing), say the industry’s independent companies are increasingly using work experience as a free labour ticket, rather than using it as an avenue to start someone’s career., Headed by veteran producer Paul Watson, they say industry exploitation is now more prevalent than ever before, with TV bosses either imposing 11-18-hour days on their staff - withholding hourly fees or bailing on payment altogether., TV Wrap are keen to highlight that such an abuse of employment law is all the more difficult for freelancers because bosses can make on-the-spot promises of permanent or more lucrative employment, which often sway people away from quitting or complaining., The group is insistent that no TV or film freelancer should be frightened of hard work, but they say that bullying, exploitative and potentially fatal work conditions in broadcasting need addressing immediately., One TV freelancer told Media Guardian’s exposé into workplace exploitation that she worked 18-hour days as a “matter of course,” leaving her feeling “close to mental and physical collapse.”, Another TV hopeful possessing three years running experience said he was taken on by an independent label to work ten hours a day, at six days a week., Yet after starting on set, he recalls how his hours stretched to 13-hour days and then 15-hour days for the same rate of £275 per week., “It’s widely regarded that runners are fodder,” said the 25-year-old who declined to be named. , “In the longer days our rate effectively went down to £3 per hour. The thing that stands out is the treatment of work experience people. Any work experience person is expected to do a runner’s job for no pay at all. I did five months of unpaid work experience before I managed to get any pay whatsoever.”, One London-based professional with seven years contracting experience in the TV and film industry believes freelancers can often become victims of workplace exploitation simply by the temporary nature of their work., The 26-year-old, who has worked on a number of flagship drama projects for the BBC, told Freelance UK: “Only a few freelancers choose to fight exploitation for fear of burning bridges, this is compounded because even fewer companies are set up to combat the problem., “A lot of the time in the UK, younger freelancers are also unsure of what rights they have, so they sit on the sidelines rather than speaking out.”, Responding to claims that work experience has become a passport for free labour, the freelancer said that temporary unpaid work is an industry reality that can often have rewarding results. , But he added that employers have become more savvy about the benefits of having extra creative talent on-set., “It is clear that there is a lot of money to be made in the TV and film industry, but unfortunately it’s not for the overworked crew. It’s more a case of the rich get richer in a few rogue companies - often at the sweat, blood and financial expense of the naive or intimidated freelancer.”, Despite the chorus of freelance and broadcast voices condemning unfair conditions on pay, workload, sick leave, overtime and holiday time - not all industry captains are convinced., John McVay, chief executive of Pact, the trade body representing the commercial interest of the independent sector, argues that facts and figures are needed to confirm the existence of so-called ‘exploitation.’, “The problem with the TV Wrap paper is that there’s lots of assertions but I don’t see lots of hard statistics and facts there., “With 1,400 signatures they could have done a survey and asked questions to get hard figures. They haven’t.”, He believes that like other creative industries, unpaid work has a legitimate role to play in the TV industry, but added that if “hard evidence” points to an “extensive” neglect of fees, then there is certainly an issue., Paul Watson, heading the programme, disregards McVay’s observations as does Bectu, the broadcast Union, which has said the problem is so entrenched that some TV hopefuls fail to speak out because of a climate of fear in the workplace., One freelancer said that the company he was contracted into publicly humiliated anyone that ever complained, prompting others to learn that ‘trouble-making’ - or speaking out, was not an advisable practice., As a result, Paul Watson, joined by former independent TV producer, Michael Darlow has agreed to spotlight the problem by taking their protest document to Tony Blair., Both men are intending to deliver their petition to 10 Downing Street shortly, so freelancers can retain their jobs, while facing the prospect of a less exploitative industry., The core of the document focuses on support for the EU directive to ensure nobody works more than 48 hours a week, an alert that the minimum wage is often unobserved, and a reminder that freelancers (like permanent workers) are entitled to a paid holiday. To sign the petition or to find more about TV Wrap please visit: www.tvwrap.org.uk