BECTU recognises that there are Staff at Sky who would benefit from trade union expertise and help. We also understand that there has been little education about the role, structure and benefits of trade unions in recent years. BECTU representatives at Sky hope the information provided here helps you to see how trade union membership could help you and the company.

What are trade unions?

Trade unions are organisations that represent people at work. Their purpose is to protect and improve people's pay and conditions of employment. They also campaign for laws and policies which will benefit working people.

Trade unions exist because an individual worker has very little power to influence decisions that are made about his or her job. By joining together with other workers, there is more chance of having a voice and influence.

All sorts of jobs and industries are covered by trade unions. Some unions represent people who do a particular job or work in a specific industry - for example, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), as its name suggests, represents journalists. The Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) has traditionally represented the majority of grades in broadcasting and is therefore best suited to dealing with issues at Sky.

Other unions include a mixture of people in different jobs and sectors. The biggest unions in Britain - the GMB, UNISON and the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) represent people working in a range of different occupations and industries in the public and private sectors. Often this is because unions have merged with other unions so that they can increase their membership and their influence.

Why do people join trade unions?

The main reason people join trade unions is so that they can have better pay and working conditions and union protection if there is a problem at work.

The table below shows the result of a survey which looked at the reasons why people join trade unions and why they remain union members.

REASON	New members %	Members %
Support if I have a problem at work	81.5	65.9
Improved pay and conditions	42.0	39.6
Most people at work are members	15.4	32.5
I believe in trade unions	18.2	37.5
Industrial benefits/services	7.4	9.1
Financial services	3.5	2.5
Other	6.8	5.3

Source: IRRU, published 1996

What is the impact of trade unions on business?

Trade unions recognise that organisations must be competitive in the global markets if they are to be successful and provide secure employment for employees. In recent years emphasis has been placed on developing a partnership approach between trade unions and employers to organisation in the workplace.

Trade unions have an important role to play in

• improving communication between employees and managers so that employees can understand and be committed to the organisation's objectives.
• negotiating improvements to pay and working conditions so that people feel more satisfaction at work and stay longer in their jobs .
• encouraging companies to invest in training and development so that employees have the skills necessary for improved products and services and lifelong employment.
• working with the company to promote and maintain a proper culture of Health & Safety - using current legislation

How do trade unions recruit their members?

Different unions cover different jobs and industries. Workers are well advised to join the most appropriate union for their job or sector.

Unions recruit new members in different ways. Most people find out about the union by talking to colleagues at the workplace and then make direct contact with the union. Others are contacted by the union representative who gives them information about the union and tells them how to join. Some employers and personnel officers tell employees about the union when they start working for the organisation.

Unions are stepping up their efforts to attract new members. Some are using adverts in newspapers and magazines, television commercials and leaflets as part of high profile recruitment campaigns. The target for these efforts is often people who work part time, in temporary jobs or in small organisations where in the past union membership has not been very high.

The TUC is running a major initiative called 'New Unionism - Organising for Growth' which helps trade unions to step up recruitment and organisation in new industries and services. There is a strong focus on the recruitment of young people. The TUC's Training Academy teaches young trade unionists how to recruit more young people into trade unions.

How are trade unions structured?

Trade unions are democratic organisations which are accountable to their members for their policies and actions. Unions are normally modelled on the following structure:

How are trade unions financed?

Each trade union member pays a subscription. The amount varies from union to union and can be set at different levels according to the amount people earn. In BECTU for example subscriptions are based on 1 per cent of basic income or a penny in the £. Typically a new member will pay an introductory subscription of £10 per month; BECTU also offers a special rate to new graduates and a reduced rate for unemployed members.

In BECTU subscriptions are usually paid by direct debit from your bank account or by deductions at source (direct from wages) where the employer provides this facility.

In exchange, members receive the benefits of representation, negotiation, protection and other services from their union.

Queries about industrial action?

Over the past 20 years trade unions have been subject to significant changes in the law. Some of the biggest changes relate to industrial action. The main changes are:

How has union membership changed over the last few years?

In 1998, union membership in Britain was 7.1 million (Labour Force Survey), The proportion of all employees who were union members was 29.6%. These are the overall figures, however, union membership varies enormously by industry and by the types of jobs that people do.

Trade union membership has declined over the last two decades. In 1979 13.3 million people were members of trade unions and the proportion of employees who were union members stood at 55%.

However, trade union membership remains an important feature of employment in the UK and many people are employed in workplaces where unions are recognised by management for negotiating pay and conditions of employment.

There is also evidence that the decline in union membership is beginning to slow up. The TUC's New Unionism - Organising for Growth project has helped many unions to step up their efforts to recruit in new industries and new jobs. As a result a more diverse cross section of the population are turning to trade unions because they want the protection they can provide.

New Recognition Rights - BECTU and Sky

New rights on statutory recognition were introduced in August 2000. Since that time BECTU has been working hard to build its membership at Sky to take advantage of these new rights in order to improve conditions for Sky staff. We have been working with members at Osterley, at the Call Centres in Scotland and with Sky's engineer force.

Membership has increased steadily over the period and vital to our success to date has been the willingness of Sky staff to act as representatives. In particular, this development has been critical to our progress both at Osterley and at the Call Centres.

In October 2002 BECTU submitted a claim for recognition on behalf of Sales Staff. As a result agreement has now been reached with Sky management on the conduct of a ballot to determine union recognition for this group in January 2003. This is a major development. At Osterley where BECTU's membership is highest amongst Operations Staff we are very close to submitting a similar application for recognition. A petition will be circulating in January 2003 in support of the formal application.

To find out more about BECTU and its work on behalf of Sky staff and staff across broadcasting, film and please e-mail us at