Members of Equity have unanimously passed a motion at the annual conference in Derry, calling on the trade union movement to campaign for further protections from artificial intelligence misuse for creative workers.
The motion will be put forward at TUC Congress, the annual conference which sets the agenda for the TUC – the federation of 48 unions in the UK representing over 5.5 million working people, of which Equity is a member. TUC Congress will take place on 7-10 September in Brighton this year.
The motion calls on the TUC to lobby government to introduce a regime of personality rights to protect artists’ likeness; push for the enforcement of data protection rights; campaign against the introduction of a ‘text and data mining exception’ to copyright protection; and campaign for the implementation of ‘AI for Creative Workers: a TUC Manifesto’ (full motion text below):
Feyesa Wakjira – actor and Equity Councillor (member elected to serve on the union’s governing body) – proposed the motion and spoke about Equity members’ solution to the issue of AI misuse of artists’ work and likeness: "It is simple, it is clear. It is that creative contributions belong to the artist principally... It also means should any of us agree to participate in using AI, it must include informed consent, that we be fairly remunerated, and that abuse of trust must not be tolerated. This will protect our industry and our members, and above all our creative independence."
Equity’s annual conference 2025 is currently taking place in Derry this year, running from Saturday 10 - Monday 12 May. It is the Equity’s flagship democratic event, bringing together representatives from across the union to decide Equity’s agenda and rules. This year, motions to be discussed include defending soaps / continuing drama, calling on the BBC to protect audio drama, and campaigning for more arts funding.
Equity motion to TUC (full text):
Conference supports Council in sending the following motion to TUC 2025 on behalf of Equity:
Generative AI and creative workers’ rights
Congress notes that:
i. creative workers are the backbone of the UK’s world-leading performing arts and entertainment industry, yet often find themselves in precarious working conditions;
ii. generative AI continues to transform work in the industry, as engagers turn to AI to create, for example, synthesised voice content, a digital replica of a performer or to train foundational AI models;
iii. artists frequently find that their image, likeness or voice has been used in generative AI without consent or remuneration, for uses beyond those originally agreed, and for which engagers rely on broad transfers of intellectual property rights;
iv. meanwhile, the government intends to weaken the protection provided by the copyright regime, by introducing an exception to copyright where content is used for the purpose of training AI.
Therefore, Congress calls on the TUC to:
1. campaign for the implementation in full of ‘AI for Creative Workers: a TUC Manifesto’;
2. lobby government to introduce a regime of personality rights, under which artists could better protect and license their voice, likeness and other aspects of their personal image;
3. work with the government and its newly-created Information Commissioner to push for improved enforcement of data protection rights in respect of generative AI; and
4. campaign against the government’s intended introduction of a ‘text and data mining exception’ to copyright protection.
It must include informed consent, that we be fairly remunerated, and that abuse of trust must not be tolerated.
Feyesa Wakjira
