Posts by Peter Cox
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You said it Rob, and I think there-in lies the concern about the MEAA - whether they really understand the nature of the NZ industry, and whether the sort of hard edged trade unionism they're used to is something that's going to work for us.
As Rod Oram said a good couple of weeks back, it would be a pity for us to lose the Hobbit for us to have to learn that lesson, but hopefully we can learn it without having to come to that.
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Meant to also say: if that's the case, why would Peter Cox be explaining how the NZ Writer's Guild has been discussing a lobbying and law-change strategy very similar to that of Irish Equity?
I think was she is saying is that there are also legislative challenges that can be made to the existing law.
But I think her point is that basically that if the pink book is legal then it should be legal to have an individual 'pink book' for the hobbit producers.
You could also say that both of those options were equally illegal depending on what side of the legal fence you stand, and there-in lies the problem. And, at least as far as I can tell, there's an argument either way. Ultimately, as Rob says, it would be a protracted legal campaign to find out and set some kind of specific precedent, which no one is really that keen on, I don't think. But maybe that will change...
Really, the problem hasn't been helped by the FIA statement specifically requesting the Hobbit producers enter into a collective bargain with the MEAA, which I would imagine the rest of the FIA would assume meant 'legally binding', when the MEAA's own legal advice very specifically said that they couldn't legally collectively bargain unless the NZ Actor's were employees, which, as far as I can tell, they don't want to be.
Now, maybe if that original Simpson-Grierson advice dealt with the Trade Union Act Kelly is referring to, things might be a bit different, certainly I would have liked to have heard Crown Law's opinion on it.
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Hi Dean, first part of your statement is totally true, thanks.
Second, not so much: we have never, at least in the last few years asked for a 'collective agreement' to be negotiated with SPADA. We have always understood that doing so is effectively illegal for people working as independent contractors. We have operated under our own version of the 'pink book guidelines', which we are in a constant process of renegotiating and reinforcing as best we can within NZ law. I'd like to think we do pretty damn decently too.
So we haven't, to the best of my knowledge, been rebuffed by SPADA. I'm not defending SPADA in any way of course in this instance, or any other: just merely saying we haven't had that specific issue with them. Having said that, not everyone on SPADA is a terrible person by any means. Matt Horrocks for example, is a very decent fellow in my personal opinion. As are others. We work very hard on getting the best results for our members by working with our industry partners as much as possible, and - by and large - they're responsive, and our members are in far better positions as a result.
Anyway, if you, or any other members of any of the guilds want to email me and as NZWG President and have a chat about the NZWG position you're more than welcome to - my email is on the NZWG website. Or you can chat to Steven Gannaway, the ED, although he's very busy, so I don't want to make promises of his time - operational/governance divide and all that...
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Theoretically it'd be the EPMU or NZWG.
Techos have the Techo's Guild (NZFVTG). Writers are the NZWG. Directors the NZDG. Producers are SPADA.
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@pneumeric, amen.
EDIT:
None of the other screen guilds have spoken in support of Equity, and they have privately assured both Spada and the government that they are on the side of the producers in this case.
Oh!... sorry didn't really properly take that in until now. Because I said I agreed with Russell's post earlier, I'd better clarify: the NZWG position is the same now as its always been: the 'relevant parties need to sit down and work it out'. Same position privately too. I'm not sure that necessarily puts us on anyone's 'side'.
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They could use a McCarten...
EVERYONE could use a McCarten!
(but seriously, Matt is just a damn fine man. Had to toss that in.)
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Uh, sorry to sound like a pompous back-seat moderator, but I'm very interested in this being debated a bit. Can we try and keep it civil so people don't just pack off and leave? It's not that kind of forum.
(appreciate people are rightly very passionate about this though...)
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Interesting, thanks Graham.
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He was not shouted down, he was invited to finish but baulked at reading the defamatory accusations against Jennifer and Michael.
You're saying he hadn't read it himself before reading it out in the meeting, and so when he got to that part he stopped and refused to go on?
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I like how legislators have managed to make it seem like a profession that has to live from job to job which may wish to organise is guilty ipso facto of "price-fixing". How charming.
It's a bit more complex than that. There are ways of organising yourself quite effectively within the current system. It's not something that the MEAA is used to of course.