The Stage

Unions to lobby government demanding agency licensing regulations are reinstated

Published Tuesday 18 May 2010 at 16:10 by Matthew Hemley

Unions Bectu and Equity are to jointly lobby the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat government for the reintroduction of a licensing regime covering entertainment agencies.

Each organisation’s ruling bodies - the Equity council and Bectu’s National Executive Committee - has recently agreed to work together to campaign for a “new set of innovative regulations” aimed at ensuring agencies working in the entertainment industry have to be licensed to operate, in a bid to crack down on rogue agents.

Agency licensing was abolished in 1994, with both unions repeatedly stating since then that, with no regime in place, performers are being abused by rogue agents, particularly in relation to up-front fees.

Their concerns were heightened earlier this year after it emerged that proposed legislation unveiled last November by the previous Labour government and intended to target companies which continue to charge performers up front, are unlikely to be a priority for the new coalition government.

Now, both unions have agreed a motion put forward to their ruling bodies by Clive Hurst, who is both an Equity councillor and member of Bectu’s Film Artistes’ Association committee, which called on them to work together to lobby the new government for a new licensing regime.

Hurst told The Stage there was “an urgent need for both unions to set out their stall, showing exactly what they wanted from licensing” and said the entertainment industry should be licensed just as the Gangmasters Licensing Authority regulates the supply of workers to the agricultural, horticultural and shellfish industries.

He added: “A licensing regime should do two things. It should allow the legitimate agency to trade and it should stop the illegitimate agency from trading. Currently there appears to be more illegitimate agencies than there are legitimate. There are no regulations currently in force to deal with this ever increasing problem.”

Spencer MacDonald, Bectu national official, told The Stage that Bectu and Equity already shared similar views “in terms of what needs to done to tackle rogue agents” and added: “I expect this new proposition will be an extension and not a replacement of what we have already agreed on.”

Hurst’s motion was heard by the Equity council earlier this month and by Bectu’s NEC last weekend.

Responding, Michael Vine, president of the Agents’ Association, said getting rid of licences had not removed legislation that agencies have to abide by and which he said had become more “draconian” since licensing was removed.

He said the bureaucracy involved in reintroducing a scheme would not be welcomed by the new government but said the Agents’ Association was not against the idea.

“Agents would welcome it because it’s a profile thing. It means they can say, ‘I’ve got a licence’,” he said.