NCA provides for single digital media use fee
TORONTO — Members of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) have voted in favour of ratifying a 2017-2020 national commercial agreement (NCA), ACTRA announced Friday afternoon.
Supported by 78% of voting ACTRA members, the 2017-2020 NCA settlement will provide for a new single digital media use fee payable on all commercials produced for or moved over to digital media. The three-year agreement also promotes new work opportunities for performers in low-budget digital media commercials with the ACTRAonline Opportunity Pilot Project.
All rates and fees in the NCA, with the exception of the pilot project, will increase by 6% over three years commencing with a 2% increase effective August 5, 2017. According to ACTRA, the settlement represents an estimated increase of $3 million in performers’ compensation over the three-year term of the new agreement, which generated more than $45 million in performer earnings in 2016.
“In these changing and challenging times in the advertising industry, we have achieved a settlement that creates new work opportunities and provides substantial improvements for ACTRA performers,” said David Sparrow, ACTRA national president and negotiating committee chair, in a press release announcing the contract agreement. “I’m incredibly proud of the ACTRA members who served on our bargaining team and all the members who helped make this new deal a reality.”
ACTRA, the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) and the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) commenced negotiations in Toronto on June 7, 2017. The NCA covers the engagement of performers in all television, radio and digital commercial production in Canada. Voting commenced on July 19, and closed on August 4. The new agreement will take effect August 5, and will expire on June 30, 2020.
“Unions around the world are facing employer demands for rollbacks at the bargaining table. Global competition for commercial production is more intense now than ever,” said Stephen Waddell, chief negotiator and ACTRA’s national executive director. “In this climate, ACTRA members have achieved an agreement that makes it easier than ever to hire the most talented performers in Canada and ensures performers are fairly compensated for their work.”
ACTRA is the national union of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 23,000 members across the country — the foundation of Canada’s highly acclaimed professional performing community.
