Posts by Blake Monkley
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@ Blake - can someone move the NZ oil/gas supplies to another country?
That's the difference why that worked and this was never going to.
Peter - All I was trying to demonstrate is that tans tasman unions co-operating together can be a benefit to NZ workers. Real improvements in wages won't come from fiddling around with the tax system.
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Chad Taylor reports on the expansion of film tax subsidies
oil + gas
The EPMU launched a new short film titled "Black Gold" , showcasing the 30% pay increase achieved by EPMU members in Taranaki covered by the Kan Tan 4 collective agreement.
The agreement was negotiated by the Trans-Tasman Oil & Gas Alliance, which comprises the EPMU, Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ), Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Australian Workers Union (AWU), and which was established to work towards pay parity for all oil and gas workers in New Zealand and Australia.
The agreement was made possible by the level of co-operation between Australian and New Zealand unions.
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MEDIA RELEASE
21 October 2010
Facts on Hobbit
Helen Kelly, CTU President, said today that it is important that some facts about the union stance on the Hobbit are placed before the public.· The union is seeking basic terms and conditions such as hours, breaks, overtime payments etc.
· The union has always been prepared to agree those conditions as an industry standard rather than a collective agreement.
· The union advised Warners on Sunday (their time) that they had asked the Screen Actors Guild to lift any “don’t work” orders in place. A statement has been prepared by Equity but Warners have asked to control the time of the release and have delayed several days. We understand Wingnut were aware of this when they met with Technicians last night but failed to pass on this information.
· MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance New Zealand Incorporated) is a registered union in New Zealand. They affiliate to the CTU in New Zealand and are a trans-Tasman organisation. We are used to having hundreds of Trans Tasman businesses in NZ and that appears to be perfectly acceptable. Many of our performers work in both countries so a Trans Tasman union makes sense.
“These films can be made here”, said Helen Kelly. “Following a meeting last week, which included Hon Gerry Brownlee, good progress is being made on developing an industry standard through improving the content and form of the current “Pink Book”. Last night’s meeting was ironically to begin discussions with Equity members on that process. It will now have to be rescheduled.
“Helen Kelly said NZ Performers want the movie made here as much as anyone, but let’s get all the facts on the table about taxes, subsidies, and other issues – rather than just blaming the union for asking to meet on basic terms and conditions”.
ENDS
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Thanks to Simon Bennett for his post (2.05 today). There is so much misinformation about it's no surprise that so many people are confused. However, whilst the relevant parties are talking in private it is most productive to let them do this without adding more confusion to the mixture.
Is anyone else thinking what negotiations could be like once National amend the ERA Act to allow employers to directly communicate with union members during bargaining. In the past employers have been known to write to employees at their home prior to a vote in bargaining and threaten all sorts of consequences if they do not agree with the employer position...troubling times lay ahead. If you wanted to change public thinking on a set of negotiations you could have a field day with the proposed legislation change.
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Die die die did the business as well, kind of like Bailter Space sped from 33 to 45, or maybe 78 even. Nice one.
The lads are certainly on form.
Media advisory re The Hobbit
Helen Kelly, CTU President has met with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh and we are hopeful that a meaningful dialogue between Equity, SPADA, and Three Foot Seven can be established.
Ends.
Hooray!
Comrade, I'll second that.
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But as far as I can tell, both the Pink and Blue Books are almost universally adhered to. They're not vague guidelines either -- they even stipulate unglamorous stuff like mileage rates.
I have alot of friends who are Actors and a very good friend who is a top agent and they tell me that they have to reinvent the wheel each time a production comes in to make people adhere to the pink book. Granted that some of the top production houses do have good compliances and have good guidelines in place, but this is getting harder and harder each time to enforce especailly with the low budget projects that seemed to be funded lately.
Which two parties? Actors' Equity and Peter Jackson, like the actors say they want? Blake, they can't negotiate an industry agreement. It would be unethical of Jackson to enter into such a process.
Open communication is the Key and if that leads to whoever is the party so be it!
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The important point to remember is that the pink book is not legally enforcable, it's a set of guidelines and standards. If the two parties were to reach an agreement on an Industry collective they could have a variation clause which would give them flexibilty that the film industry needs sometimes for small budget purposes etc.........seems simple enough to me.
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Press Release from Jennnifer.....
MEDIA RELEASE: 1 October 2010
From: Jennifer Ward-Lealand, President, NZ Actors EquityResponse to Wingnut Films Statement 30 September 2010
Sir Peter’s latest public comments are yet further evidence, of the urgent need for a calm meeting between the production company and NZ Equity to resolve the matters at hand.
I feel very disappointed that Sir Peter has chosen to use a private, confidential correspondence between us in the public arena.
Just as in our meeting in Auckland on Tuesday, last night’s meeting with Wellingtonactors was intended to consult with local performers, and canvas their support to formally negotiate reasonable terms and conditions with the producers.
We considered that Sir Peter’s suggestion of having a production company representative present their views at the meeting was premature, and unfair for our Union members, especially as it was such late notice, and the same opportunity had not been afforded to Auckland members on Tuesday.
As it happened, a performer at the meeting, who was not a member of the union, was given the opportunity during the event to read a six-page letter from Sir Peter.
Notwithstanding Sir Peter’s views, the majority (70%) of the performers at the meeting voted in favour of NZ Actor’s Equity meeting face-to-face with Sir Peter and/or the production company to resolve the issues as soon as possible.
I believe we now have a strong mandate from NZ performers to represent their interests with the producers of the Hobbit.
As we have previously said, we have no desire to jeopardise the production, create instability, or see it move offshore.
Our members are simply seeking fair and equitable employment terms for New Zealand actors, in line with the terms and conditions that their colleagues elsewhere in the world enjoy.
I can assure the producers that our requirements are entirely reasonable. Many have no cost implications for the production, and the overall impact of our demands is miniscule for a production of this size.
We continue to believe that a solution can be found by sitting down calmly with the producers, and talking through the issues. With goodwill on all sides we are confident this issue can be resolved quickly in the best interests of New Zealand and local performers.
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By allowing them to play on this year still 700k over the cap isn't the NRL endorsing other teams losing against a team that still has an advantage?
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When I heard this I was hooked...
and this ....