19 August 2018

At its meeting in July 2018, the Equity Council made the following decisions: 

• To re-elect Bryn Evans to the post of Honorary Treasurer.
• To conduct a ballot for the positions of Vice-President.
• To elect Ian Barritt, Bertie Carvel and Paul Valentine to attend the TUC Congress in September 2018.
• To reschedule the November meeting of the Council to 13 November 2018.
• To determine the appropriate actions to implement the decisions of the 2018 Annual Representative Conference.
• To increase subscription rates and membership fees by 3.1% from 1 January 2019, in line with the decision taken at the 2018 Annual Representative Conference.
• To nominate Matt Hood, Assistant General Secretary, to the Board of Trustees of the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM).
• To nominate Hilary Hadley, Head of Live Performance, to the Board of the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT).
• To nominate Flora Wellesley Wesley, Creative Team Councillor, to the Accreditation Panel of CDMT.
• To nominate Nicholas Keegan, Dance Councillor, and Hilary Hadley, Head of Live Performance, to the Board of Dancers’ Career Development (DCD).
• To nominate Christine Payne, General Secretary, to the Board of the Education Recording Agency (ERA).
• To conduct a ballot to nominate five Councillors to the Board of the Equity Charitable Trust (ECT).
• To conduct a ballot to nominate one Councillor to the Board of the International Performers Aid Trust (IPAT).
• To undertake a review of the evidence of work and qualifying period to be eligible for nomination of the Council and committees.
• To support the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign.
• To hold an event in September 2018 to recognise the contribution made by the Actress Franchise League in securing the vote for some women in 1918.
• To support the StageSight campaign set up to widen the diversity of the workforce in offstage roles.
• To encourage members to sign a petition regarding the impact of the Offensive Weapons Bill on theatre and film professionals.

The Council also discussed:

• The standing orders for Council meetings.
• The elections for President, Council, Standing Orders and Appeals Committees.
• The Equity Staff Training Day to be held on 25 October 2018.
• The meeting of the European Section of the International Federation of Actors (Euro-FIA) that took place 5-7 June 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. Key topics discussed included Brexit and the effects of the proposed regulations on Eco-Efficient Lighting on theatres.
• The TUC LGBT+ Conference where Equity delegates proposed a motion on LGBT+ Refugee and Asylum Seeker Rights.

The Council also welcomed a new record number of members in benefit, with the union’s total membership (excluding students) now standing at 44,231.

You can contact the Council via their page on the website.