The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

March 1955 CINE TECHNICIAN 41 Vital Policy Decisions made by FILM and TELEVISIONS TECHNICIANS at ANNUAL A.T.C. MEETING Mr. D. Kingslei/ , N.F.F.C, advising the meeting APT POLICY on many vital ^*-«^' J • issues for coming twelve months was debated and decided, and officers elected, at association's annual members' meeting held in Beaver Hall, London, March 5th and 6th. Present in varying numbers, men and women from feature film studios, from film laboratories, from short films, and from B.B.C. and Commercial television. In private session Saturday morning, George Elvin moved and Alf Cooper seconded a General Council proposal for changes in rule 20, rule dealing with recalcitrent members. After discussion the proposed new rule was rejected by 52 votes to 25. Sparsely attended in opening stages, meeting hall filled up for later discussions. Meeting carried resolution that " should a film regardless of length obtain a distribution contract and the distributor rent the film to an exhibitor and the contractor reads ' second feature ' it should automatically become a feature"; instructed incoming General Council " to use every endeavour to have a revised minimum crew formulated at earliest possible moment . . . crew to include Production Manager, Production Secretary and Continuity Secretary"; urged formation by the industry of " a casualisation fund so that idle time (of technicians) will be covered in order to retain technical skill in this industry"; urged the incoming General Council " to press for the setting up of a comprehensive pension scheme to cover the entire industry"; and gave unanimous support to a resolution proposing the display on films of "a trade union certificate of approval, showing that the film was made under full trade union conditions." Resolutions protesting against recent rent rises and introduction of a means test for council tenants; and demanding rises in old age pensions were carried. Resolutions on " Peaceful Settlement of International Problems " and on German Rearmament were remitted to the newly-elected General Council for attention. A proposal to cease affiliation to the Labour Research Dept. was rejected. The meeting pledged unanimously " full support to all (A.C.T.'s) members employed by the British Broadcasting Corporation in their efforts to gain trade union recognition " and looked forward to a continuance of the friendly relations between the Independent Television Authority and A.C.T. which has already helped to smooth out problems between the two parties in the commercial television field, and to these relations leading at an early date to full trade union recognition, regular consultation, negotiation and maintenance of agreements by all companies engaged in the field of television. In another resolution, the General Council were instructed by unanimous vote to press in conjunction with other interested bodies for an 80 % quota of new British material in all television programmes, together with all the other safeguards proposed by the fourteen bodies organising employees in television. " And to pay particular attention to avoiding the danger that, since television films are usually made for a fixed sum of money, artistic and econ omic standards may be depressed as a result of the producing companies being more concerned with reducing costs than in maintaining quality." The hall was crammed to limit when Martin McLean rose to move on behalf of the Sound Section: " This Annual General Meeting instructs the incoming General Council, in acordance with existing policy, to insist with all employers that full feature rates and conditions be applied to all film material for television, whether for immediate or eventual transmission or projection in this country or abroad." After Michael Crossfield of Merton Park had seconded, Peter de Normanville, Shell, rose to move, as an amendment, the addition to the resolution of the words: " With the exception of such modifications as shall be agreed between A.C.T. and A.S.F.P. provided that such modifications will in no way damage the interests of other members." Len Runkel, Technicolor, seconded this amendment, and a very full debate followed. General Council members had free vote and voice on this matter, so some members of the Council, including Teresa Bolland, Ken Gordon and Charles Wheeler, supported the resolution, while others spoke for the amendment. The General Secretary George Elvin, rose to urge the meeting to accept the amendment, pointing out that as A.C.T.'s representative he had pledged discussions of modifications with short-film employer organisation, A.S.F.P. Amendment was carried by 201 votes to 77.