Equity

Cuts to Government support for the arts are coming , and some in the arts think we should not rock the boat and be grateful if the cuts are smaller than expected.

Equity is not one of them!

Click below to join the campaign.

(read more...)

At its first meeting after the Equity elections, the new Council wrote an open letter to David Cameron setting out the reasons why it makes no sense to cut Government funding of the arts.

“We have read why you believe you have to do this but fail to understand why public investment in our industries is to be cut when the creative industries are one of this country’s greatest success stories, punching way above our weight,” the Council letter says. “Our industry is one of the few bright lights on the horizon and it seems to us that you are at risk of damaging the one industry which is thriving and will make a vital contribution to our recovery.”

(read more...)

Campaigning web site 38 Degrees has launched a campaign against Government plans to cut the BBC licence fee. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the licence fee was under threat in an interview this weekend with the Daily Telegraph, in which he attacked the BBC's "extraordinary and outrageous" waste.

(read more...)

Equity is shocked to learn of the Government's decision to abolish the UK Film Council. Since 2000 UKFC has championed film production in the UK and has actively engaged with all stakeholders, including trade unions representing performers and other workers in the sector.

(read more...)

Following a brief break in the service due to external funding issues, Equity is delighted to announce that our specially trained careers advisors are now available for one-to-one advice sessions on a freelance basis. These members are working practitioners, who have been trained by Skillset to the national Matrix standard for delivering advice and are fully accredited. They can now be contacted individually .

(read more...)

The festival takes place in October, but come to the launch on July 30th in London for an evening of dance, food. music and a preview of a new film featuring ZARGANAR.

(read more...)

Malcolm Sinclair has been elected as President of Equity in a postal ballot of the members of the union. Malcolm received 46 per cent of the vote with his two rivals Graham Hamilton and Dave Eager polling 40 and 14 per cent each.

(read more...)

Unions representing staff at the BBC, including Equity, have launched a campaign against cuts in benefits in the BBC staff pension scheme.

(read more...)

Equity has produced a new Guide for Working on Student Films and has updated the Equity Guide to Low Pay No Pay Work in Film and Television.

(read more...)

As usual we will be running a series of free events (but reserved places) during the Edinburgh festivals. If you are going to be in the area and want to come along, read more to get the full details including how to reserve a place.

(read more...)

This year's annual Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival took place from July 16th-18th in Dorset. The festival commemorates the events of 1834, when six farm workers from the tiny village of Tolpuddle in Dorset were sentenced to seven years’ transportation. Their ‘crime’ was to take an oath of solidarity in forming a trade union. A massive protest swept across the country.

(read more...)

Due to extensive building work on the ground floor and basement of Guild House over the summer, normal reception facilities to members and visitors will not be available. Only a limited 'emergency mode' facility will be possible until the beginning of September.

(read more...)

Equity is receiving an unprecedented volume of calls from members enquiring if there are any royalties or residuals due from programmes etc. initially transmitted many years ago which are now being exploited via TV, DVD/video or new media. We are very happy to hear from you but to help us process your claim....

(read more...)

It was announced on 15th June that the Vetting and Barring Scheme due to be introduced in July 2010 under the Independent Safeguarding Authority has been halted.

(read more...)

Click below for a short film of Equity’s year: new voices – Equity reaching out to younger members; raised voices – Equity the campaigning union; international voices – Equity working across the globe; influential voices – when Equity members speak with one voice they can have real influence.

(read more...)

More than eight thousand people, including some of the UK’s best known performers, have signed a petition calling on TV companies to address the imbalance of male and female roles on UK television. Recent research reveals that for every two male roles in a drama there is just one female.. Make sure you join in the protest and sign the online petition here! Click here to go to the petition.

The petition is open to the viewing public to sign. Equity is calling on members to sign the petition and to forward it to your friends and family. If we get even bigger numbers, we can have a real effect.

(read more...)

Equity has made huge strides in facing the challenges arising from new media commissions for new technologies such as mobiles, Video on Demand and computer games. A high number of performers have benefited from Equity’s guidelines on minimum fees and usage fees for voice-over and Motion capture work. Now Equity is attempting to improve and update all of its agreements for the games industry and wants your feedback on this process via a questionnaire.

(read more...)

Over the days around Shakespeare’s birthday this year, members of Equity supporting the Shakespeare celebration for 2012 (which we call SHAKESPEARE UNITED for 2012), succeeded in several objectives:

(read more...)

Following the series of seminars held by unions around Europe which ended with the meeting in Edinburgh in February on Strategies to Combat Gender Stereotypes and Promote Equal Opportunities for Performers, a major conference was held in Brussels on June 6th. Equity Vice President Jean Rogers reports on the conference here

(read more...)

Equity has today (1 July) responded to the BBC Trust's call for the publication of "star" salaries by warning that this could be a breach of contract.

(read more...)