, we need your support to fight for jobs, the future of the BBC and the future of music. Photo: Shutterstock.
The BBC is an essential public service that belongs to all of us. It may not be perfect, but it’s ours – and it’s the single biggest employer and engager of Musicians’ Union members in the UK.
However, since 2010, the BBC’s funding has been cut in real terms by around 30%. This has left the BBC’s workers – trade union members from across the arts and culture sectors – overworked and undervalued.
Now BBC management has announced plans to slash around 2,000 jobs, around one in ten, as part of further cost-cutting measures.
The BBC simply cannot fulfil its mission to inform, educate, and entertain without the creativity and professionalism of its workers.
Together with our sister unions representing BBC staff, contractors, and freelancers, we need your support to fight for jobs, the future of the BBC and the future of music.
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This petition was launched by the Musicians’ Union, BECTU, Equity, National Union of Journalists, and The Writers Guild of Great Britain acting together as the Broadcast, Entertainment and Arts Unions (BEAU).
We want to see:
- The BBC remaining universally funded and accessible to all
- Worker representation and no more political appointees on the BBC board
- The BBC being the gold standard on employment rights: driving up pay, terms and conditions, and generating opportunities for workers across the country.
Protecting the BBC = protecting the future of music
Did you know that the BBC:
- Supports five orchestras in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Is home to the UK’s only full-time professional chamber choir
- The biggest commissioner of new music in the UK
- Hosts world’s biggest music festival, BBC Proms, as well as Glastonbury, BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, BBC Radio 6 Music Festival and regular live sessions
- Supports music education in and out of schools through BBC Bitesize, such as the ‘Get Singing’ programme, which provides resources to support collective singing to GCSE level.
To do all of this, the BBC needs proper funding. The renewal of the BBC Charter – which happens every ten years and is already underway – offers an opportunity for the government to give the BBC the resources and reforms it needs to provide a quality public service, free from commercial or political interference.
Something for everyone, across the UK
Nearly everyone, 94% of adults in the UK, uses the BBC every month.
The BBC has an incredible range of TV, audio and digital services – from Planet Earth to the Proms, from BBC Bitesize and The World Service, to live coverage of the World Cup – all without advertising and without subscription fees. For around £3.50 a week, that’s remarkable value for money.
In return the BBC contributes £5 billion to the economy every year and drives the wider creative industries: nurturing talent, commissioning work, engaging thousands of freelancers and directly employing over 20,000 staff.
People across the UK’s nations, regions and local communities should see their lives and stories reflected in the BBC’s news, drama, film and musical productions.
The constant cycle of cuts and cost-saving must end. Public services only work when we invest in them and the people who provide them.
We urge the BBC’s new director general Matt Brittin to listen to his workers and call on the UK government to urgently intervene.
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