Film and TV Technician (1957)

40 FILM & TV TECHNICIAN March 1957 President (Continued) consider once again the establishment of an International Federation of Entertainment Workers. In principle we naturally welcomed the move but the General Council had reaffirmed its policy that A.C.T.T. could only associate with any such federation provided it was of an all-embracing character. In the same way as film technicians joined our union whatever their personal politics so we demanded the right to co-operate internationally with the film workers of all other countries whatever their personal or their parent organisation's politics. " Our friends the actors and musicians are members of international federations operating under this principle. We support them and will not join any federation which rules to the contrary. We want to be equally friendly and co-operative with film workers of America, the Soviet Union, Western and Eastern Europe and throughout the world, and whilst there are big political differences between the Trade Union centres in these countries, we hold they should not be carried down to technical and professional level. There is enough division in the world without film technicians refusing to speak to film technicians." " I doubt if the Government will any longer try to talk the jargon of wage restraint, but even if it still feels so inclined it could well save its breath as the entire British Trade Union Movement has made clear that it is not going to stand by and see the standard of living of its members deteriorate. I know you wholeheartedly endorse this determination and the incoming General Council will not be backward in putting forward the necessary demands." " ON" PAROLE " George Elvin, out of hospital for a few hours, chats with the President and Stephen Swingler Hectic Year Ahead Matters had been relatively quiet on the negotiating front during the past year but it seemed certain that this year would be hectic. " The Government's policy," the President said, " makes wage demands inevitable. The higher rents, as a result of the Rent Bill, the increases in the cost of school dinners and children's milk, the increased insurance contributions and higher prescription charges, and the whole pattern of Government policy will impose burdens on our members and their families which will make wage demands inevitable. Yet at the same time the Government hastens to impose these burdens it talks but does nothing about the £1,500 million a year defence bill. " Economies in this direction would not only provide all the revenue and more which the Government aims to obtain by its attacks on the social services but would also make it possible to undo the effect of other burdens they have imposed on us previous to their recent pronouncements. A MAKESHIFT BILL CTEPHEN SWINGLER, M.P., who ^ was A.C.T.T.'s guest of honour, described the Government's Film Bill as " a very makeshift and uninspiring effort, a very dreary reproduction of past palliatives." " It comes," he said, " of rather weak parentage, and it has certainly had a premature birth. Frankly, I hope that the Unions in the industry are going to kick up a hell of a row about amendments to the quota system. " I see absolutely no reason why the Government should have reproduced, after all these years of experience, an unamended repetition of the Quota Act, since they are in possession of all the results of your labours and the labours of others that took place last year, although we who sit in the House have not, of course, had the benefit we should have had of having seen a it-port and recommendations of the National Film Finance Corporation after all the consultations and discussions last year. I think that makes it even more important that you should kick up a row and we on the Committee shall certainly do our best in that direction. " I welcome very much the widening area of agreement which has developed in this industry about matters of taxation and production amongst the unions and I look forward to this widening area of agreement on what should be done about film production and the taxation of the cinemas having its political impact. But there has to be much more pressure yet before that can come to fruition. " The trouble with Government policy on films is a fundamental one and we need today a new and honest approach to the whole subject. There is a lot of bunk being talked at the moment about free trade. The question is — freedom