Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff was pleased to have announced today a working model for moving forward with better employment laws for those in the film and screen industry. Mr Wagstaff, who was a member of the Film Industry Working Group, said that the process was constructive and collaborative, and demonstrated the value of establishing working groups providing solutions to pressing issues.
“The 2010 abrupt and unfair changes to the rights of working people in the film industry were deeply political and needed to be amended to restore the right to collectively bargain and repair good faith,” he said.
“This model recommends allowing contractors to collectively bargain to protect minimum standards and constructively resolve any disputes to stop a race to the bottom.”
Mr Wagstaff said that this proposed model showed that the Government facilitating discussion across an industry was the best way forward for producing progressive results, no matter how intractable problems may appear on the surface.
“It’s a credit to this Government that they walked into the breach and instead of dictating an answer and rushing it through, they have consulted with the parties involved and given us time to have those hard but productive conversations. It shows that industry agreements are both achievable and just make good sense for everyone.”
