In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:
But a union is if anything needed more in a largely freelance industry
to prevent victimization. At the moment, few with genuine grievances
would go direct to management as it's all too easy to simply not give
them another contract as a trouble maker.

I can see your point for your particular sector. However, in an
environment that is freelance wouldn't you normally be paid either an
hourly rate or a price for the job or some combination of the two?

All contracts vary, but in this case it's based on so many hours per week,
with extra being paid if they are exceeded. If you finish early for any
reason, those hours are removed from any subsequent overtime payments
later in the week. But the hours are purely calculated from 'on camera'
time, with no provision made for prep and wrap outside these hours. And
for some, these outside paid for working hours are getting longer, for
various reasons. So they needed rationalising. But of course the bean
counters aren't going to be concerned about things which previously they
got for nothing...

If that's the case, why would the concepts of excess hours and maximum
working week apply?

Some like to have a life? Most people expect to know well in advance which
days and what hours they'll be working so they can plan their leisure time.

Of course with every job emergencies arise and you might have to stay on
to sort them. But when those emergencies arrive each and every day, at
little to no cost to the employer, it soon dawns that it's down to
careless planning.

At one time such arrangements were common on films, and the workforce was
'bought out' to compensate. But TV seems to want the same sort of
arrangement without paying for it.

--
*Xerox and Wurlitzer will merge to market reproductive organs.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.