MONTREAL – Talks between Canadian film and TV producers and the actors they employ have broken off again as the two sides can’t decide how much the actors should get for their work which is shown on non-traditional platforms like broadband.
The producers and ACTRA negotiated through Mary-Ellen Cummings, a neutral third party facilitator. The CFTPA and APFTQ saw today’s negotiations as a final attempt to avoid a long and difficult labour dispute involving the courts, says the producers’ press release.
Cummings was not able to bridge the gap. ACTRA has been on strike since early January.
ACTRA, of course, has a different take, saying that Canadian producers have stonewalled mediation and won’t budge from ‘Internet-for-free’ proposals, says the actors’ union release.
"The CFTPA has lost its compass, its common sense, and its ability to close a reasonable agreement," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s chief negotiator.
"ACTRA did everything we humanly could to bridge the remaining issues. The CFTPA/APFTQ simply kept repeating their positions intransigently, even with the assistance of one of the best mediators in the country," Waddell added.
“We came to Montreal to finalize our proposals on both new media and wages and were feeling that we are very close to finding the deal. I’m deeply disappointed that ACTRA has taken this opportunity to ask for an unprecedented 50% increase with regard to its fees on new media production.” said John Barrack, chief negotiator, CFTPA “This illustrates the sharp contrast between ACTRA and the other unions and guilds in the production sector”.
“This labour dispute is incredibly disruptive to the Canadian production community and is affecting the lives of all of those who work in the sector. We are preparing for a very long strike.” said Julie Patry, attorney, director, industrial relations, APFTQ, “There is very little left for us to do, we’ve played all our cards and will leave this to the courts.”
The producers now say they will take court action over a strike they feel is illegal (even though no one is actually picketing as most productions signed side-deals with their actors to keep existing productions going). The CFTPA will appear in the Provincial Court of Ontario to ask the court to rule on the legality of the ACTRA Strike as well as the unlawful Continuation Letters, says the release.
The producers said their new media payment offer pays performers three times, when a new media production is made, when it is used, and if the production is ever converted to a conventional use like television or DVD.
“People will ask, why are the producers going to court? The simple answer is that our agreement states that when we have a difference of opinion, we go to arbitration. ACTRA has refused to work with us on finding an arbitrator, leaving us with little choice but to ask the court to appoint one to look at this matter as quickly as possible.” added Barrack.
"We are very confident of our case," Waddell added.
