All British public sector broadcasters have now committed to the TV Coalition for Change’s Freelance Charter with ITV and S4C joining their peers this week.
They join existing PSBs the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5, plus commercial operators Sky, Amazon Prime Video and UKTV in signing up to the coalition, which sets out to improve the working culture for freelance workers and update freelancer engagement practices.
ITV and S4C’s involvement is the first big announcement under the stewardship of Channel 4 director of commissioning operations Emma Hardy and BBC head of business for TV commissioning Matt Travers, who took on leadership of the coalition last year.
Set up in 2020 by Adeel Amini, the coalition introduced a charter to improve conditions for freelancers and create an open forum to discuss recruitment, health and safety, workplace culture, diversity and inclusivity, bullying and harassment, training and talent progression, new talent and mental health and wellbeing.
ITV chief people officer David Osborn said that for the broadcaster, pledging support is “part of our commitment to working together as an industry to bring lasting change”. He added: “Improving the working life of freelancers throughout the television community and ensuring the industry is a safe place to work, is vital.”
S4C chief content officer Llinos Griffin Williams described freelancers as “the bedrock of the creative industries and this is certainly the case in broadcasting”, adding:
“The world of a freelancer however can be an unpredictable one. As a coalition of broadcasters, we have an opportunity and indeed a responsibility to continually strive to improve the working conditions of our freelancing colleagues. The Coalition for Change is integral to achieving this.”
