Actors Vote To Delay Further Action

Date: 17 July 2003

Actors Equity

Performers voted to lift their ban on weekend work for a week until 23 July at two large strike meetings in Melbourne and Sydney this morning, July 17th.

"The gesture of good faith by actors came in response to an eleventh hour new offer from producers on the key issues in dispute: major role performers; options and real residuals in film and television," said Simon Whipp, National Director of the Equity Section of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the union representing performers.

"It's was great to see such a good turnout of performers, all concerned about the future of their industry," Whipp said.

A copy of the resolution is printed below.

Almost 500 performers participated in the strike meetings in Melbourne and Sydney. Support for the resolution was unanimous, but performers were adamant that SPAA and Channel 7 understand that they are committed to getting a good result.

Equity's negotiating team will now spend a week in intensive negotiations with producers to finalise an agreement by 23 July (next Thursday).

If there is no final agreement by this date, Equity's Performers' Committee will meet again with representatives of the working casts to plan for the industrial action.
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Resolution for Equity Strike Meetings, Sydney and Melbourne, 17 July 2003

On Thursday July 17th performers in television and film productions across Australia walked out of work because, after 8 months of exhaustive negotiation, producers had failed to engage in meaningful negotiation with our representatives to achieve a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.

Yesterday, at the eleventh hour, some progress was made. Accordingly, this meeting endorses the decision of our National Performers' Committee and representatives of working casts in film and television to suspend our industrial campaign from tonight until 23 July to allow further talks to proceed.

We will therefore lift bans on weekend overtime and not impose any further industrial action before July 23rd. We do this as a display of our good faith and demand that the producers show the same good faith in their approach these negotiations with the aim of resolving all the issues by this deadline, including a commitment to real residuals on all film and television productions; fair contracts and rates of pay for major role performers, and fair contracts and rates of pay for performers required to provide producers with options.

We strongly reaffirm our commitment to achieving fair and equitable outcomes for all performers and we fully support and commend the efforts of Alliance negotiators toward achieving these ends.

If we do not achieve the equitable outcomes that we deserve by 23 July, we call on the National Performers Committee to again consult with working casts to develop a new campaign of industrial action.

We will never give in until we achieve a fair deal for our members working in film and television.

For further information

Contact:	Simon Whipp
Union:	MEAA
Phone:	02 9333 0999
Contact Mobile:	0413 153 059
Fax:	02 9333 0933
Email:	mail@alliance.org.au
WWW:	http://www.alliance.org.au

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