BECTU call to save Nottingham studios

BECTU are demanding assurances that Carlton's Nottingham studios will stay open.
The union are seeking these assurances following news that the current series of 'Crossroads' is to end in early summer, and are determined that the studios should continue with substantial programme production.
"Any further closures of studios outside London will be seen as a nail in the coffin of TV production in the regions," commented BECTU national official Nigel Mason.
The union pointed out that in 1993 Central's programme production for the network was 320 hours; by 2000 it had dropped to just 95 hours. Also in 2000 four ITV franchises made no programmes at all for the network while others have collapsed down to a fraction of their previous output.
"BECTU are determined to defend programme making in the regions, which was the whole basis upon which ITV was established," Mason continued. "If these studios were to close, hundreds of jobs would be lost in the Midlands and inevitably there would be further centralisation of the ITV network. We are determined to defend the interests of our members in Nottingham."
In further news, BECTU Members are voting on industrial action over a pay dispute at Scottish Media.
The ballot, which closed on March 14, was prompted by the company's decision to impose a 2% pay increase on January 1 this year, without union agreement.
Staff in Scottish TV and Grampian were told that the increase, which should have been paid in October 2002, would apply until January 2004, implying a 15 month wait for any further pay rise.
A consultative ballot of union members overwhelmingly rejected the imposed rise, and both BECTU and the NUJ are threatening disruption if their strike ballots are successful.
(GB)