The Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs (ABS) was a British

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

. The organisation was founded in 1945 with the merger of the BBC Staff (Wartime) Association and the Association of BBC Engineers to form the BBC Staff Association. It was regarded as a non-political organisation for employees of the

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, but despite challenges from various trade unions, it remained the primary association of BBC employees. In 1946,

Leslie Littlewood Thomas Leslie Littlewood (1906 – 22 December 1989) was a British trade union leader and political activist. Littlewood grew up in Kingston-upon-Hull and won a bursary to Hull Grammar School, although he had to leave at the age of fifteen to supp ...

was elected General Secretary, a post he was to hold until 1968.

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

, ''The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: Volume IV: Sound and Vision'', pp.124-125 With the creation of

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, the association aimed to expand its remit to cover the new broadcaster, and accordingly renamed itself the Association of Broadcasting Staff (ABS) in 1956. This was unsuccessful, but the ABS was recognised by the Independent Television Authority. In 1963, the ABS finally affiliated to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC), and was able to normalise its relations with other TUC members. It was renamed the Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs in 1974. In 1972,

Tony Hearn David Anthony Hearn (born 4 March 1929), known as Tony Hearn, is a former British trade union leader. Hearn attended Trinity College, Oxford. He began working for the Association of Broadcasting Staff (ABS) in 1955, as assistant to the General ...

became General Secretary, and under his leadership, the union began negotiations with the

National Association of Theatrical and Kine Employees The National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees (NATTKE) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1890 and 1984. It represented employees who worked in theatres, cinemas and television. History The un ...

. The two unions finally merged in 1984 to form the Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance. As of 1982, the union had a membership of 15,510, and published a monthly journal, ''ABStract''.

General Secretaries

:1945: Tom Hobson :1946:

:1968: Tom Rhys :1972:

References

External links

BECTU History: ABSCatalogue of the ABS archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

Catalogue of the ABS BBC archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Broadcasting in the United Kingdom Communications and media organisations based in the United Kingdom Entertainment industry unions Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom 1945 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1945 Trade unions disestablished in 1984 Trade unions based in London {{UK-trade-union-stub