The newly re-elected General Secretary of performers’ union Equity, Paul W Fleming, has said that his union is “industrial action ready” in his speech to the union’s annual conference in Derry.
Fleming was speaking about Equity’s current negotiations with producers’ trade body, Pact, where he referenced Donald Trump’s recent announcement to impose tariffs on films not made in America.
Fleming said: “Trump’s threat of tariffs on film was met with hysteria from producers, and sent Netflix’s share price tumbling. It revealed the fragility of our own industry – how it is more dependent on cash from the US than strategy from the UK.
“We’re not changing our approach or our demands. The message is simple: we have put in the most ambitious claims for our TV and film agreements in a generation. Our union is industrial action ready. On dignity at work, on royalties, on artificial intelligence, on casting, and on pay: Pact and the streamers need to deliver. Our members will not wait for a global stability which will not come, or a government strategy which doesn’t exist to save them. Our claims stand, tariff or no tariff, inflation high or low: Pact and the streamers need to meet their ambition, they don’t have a choice.”
His second five-year term will run until 2030.
Picture Credit: Neil Harrison
Jon Creamer
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