Industry bodies and broadcasters are backing a revamp of the Freelancer Charter to address the urgent challenges facing freelancers in TV.
Three years on from the launch of the charter, Action For Freelancers aims to deliver concrete and measurable change for TV’s freelance workforce by pooling resources,
It has been formed by Bectu, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Paramount, Sky, UKTV, Pact and ScreenSkills.
UKTV chief creative officer Richard Watsham told the Edinburgh TV Festival that the group would be better resourced than its predecessor and said the industry had a “shared responsibility” to deliver it now that the “bubble had burst” with many freelancers out of work.
The group will appoint a project lead to head up the initiative, which will also build on British Screen Forum analysis of freelancer support and employment conditions in other countries that could be introduced here.
It is expected to meet with culture minister Chris Bryant in the coming weeks.
Coalition for Change, the pan-industry group that was formed in 2020 to improve working conditions in TV, has closed to avoid overlapping with the activity of the new group.
