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Skillset/UK Film Council Feature Film Production Workforce Survey 2008
5.1 Membership of trade unions, guilds and professional associations
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5.1 Membership of trade unions, guilds and professional associations
Exactly half of all respondents were members of a trade union, guild or professional association, a lower proportion than was found in the 2005 survey report (57%). As in the previous survey, the most common membership was of BECTU (30%), followed by BAFTA (8%), the Production Guild of Great Britain (5%) and Equity (4%).
Table 5.1.1 Membership of industry organisations
| All survey respondents 2005 report | All survey respondents 2007 report |
| % | % |
Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) | 2 | 1 |
Association of Professional Recording Services (APRS) | * |
|
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) | 10 | 8 |
Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) | 33 | 30 |
BKSTS - The Moving Image Society | 1 | 1 |
British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) | 2 | 1 |
Casting Directors Guild | 1 | 1 |
Cine Guilds of Great Britain | 1 | * |
Directors Guild of America (DGA) | * | 1 |
Directors Guild of Great Britain | * | 1 |
Equity | 4 | 4 |
Guild of British Animation | - | - |
Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT) | 5 | 3 |
Guild of British Film Editors | 1 | * |
Guild of Location Managers | 1 | 1 |
Guild of Stunt & Action Co-ordinators | * | 1 |
Guild of Television Cameramen | * | - |
Guild of Vision Mixers | - | - |
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) | 1 | 1 |
Institute of Broadcast Sound | Not included | 1 |
Institute of Electrical Engineering | Not included | * |
International Visual Communication Association (IVCA) | - | - |
Musicians Union | 1 | 1 |
New Producers Alliance | 1 | 1 |
Pact - Producers Alliance for Cinema & Television | 2 | 1 |
Production Guild of Great Britain | 3 | 5 |
Production Managers Association (PMA) | * | * |
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) | 1 | 1 |
Screen Producers Ireland | - | - |
Society of Authors | * | * |
TAC (Welsh Independent Producers) | - | * |
Who's Where | - | * |
Women in Film & Television | 1 | 2 |
Writers' Guild of Great Britain | * | * |
Other union, guild or association | 9 | 9 |
|
|
|
Not a member of any union, guild or association | 43 | 50 |
|
|
|
Base (n) | 903 | 1,262 |
Note: % totals more than 100% because respondents could select more than one category.
Membership of a union, guild or professional association varied by occupational group. Those working in sound/electrical and the camera departments were the most likely to belong to a union of some kind, principally organisations such as BECTU, GBCT, AMPS, British Society of Cinematographers and BAFTA. Camera workers, those in construction, editing and post production, and make-up/hairdressing were the groups next most likely to sign up to union membership with organisations such as BECTU, BKTS, IATSE and BAFTA. Fewer than half of those working as assistant directors, or in the costume or location departments were members of a union, guild or professional association.
Figure 5.1.1 Membership of industry organisations (by occupational group)
Base: Assistant directors = 66, location = 41, costume = 66, art, set decorating and props = 192, production = 204, make up and hairdressing = 48, other = 204, editing, post production and visual effects = 61, construction = 91, camera = 74 and sound and electrical = 204.
As reported in the 2005 survey, men were slightly more likely than women to be members of a union, guild or professional association (58% compared with 52%). However, further analysis reveals that this difference between men and women is an artefact of the different occupational group profiles of the two groups, rather than a gender difference per se[1].
Table 5.1.2 Membership of industry organisations (by gender)
| Men | Women |
| % | % |
Member of union, guild or professional association | 58 | 52 |
|
|
|
Base (n) | 692 | 456 |
Union or guild membership increased considerably with age, from less than a quarter of 16-24 year olds to over three quarters of those aged 50 or older. Further analysis revealed these differences were statistically significant after controlling for occupational group.
Table 5.1.3 Membership of industry organisations (by age)
| 16 - 24 | 25 - 34 | 35 - 49 | 50+ |
| % | % | % | % |
Member of union, guild or professional association | 24 | 47 | 63 | 67 |
|
|
|
|
|
Base (n) | 86 | 387 | 480 | 188 |
[1] Logistic regression analysis was conducted in order to establish whether the apparent differences between men and women in union membership were an artefact of the different occupational group profiles of men and women. The analysis confirmed this hypothesis - using a binary variable (union member vs. others), the gender difference was not found to be statistically significant after controlling for occupational group.
