WORKING TOWARDS A SAFE AND SECURE TOMORROW

The onslaught of COVID-19 has raised unprecedented challenges for the arts and entertainment sector. Equity director Andrew Crowley outlines the work the union is doing to safeguard the industrial rights of performers, during the current crisis and in the long term.

Along with the rest of the world, our community has changed dramatically in the last two months. In March, coronavirus hit these shores and our industry with a devastating impact. Over the course of a few days, theatres and live venues were closed; the screen sector soon followed. As we moved into a new world of government-enforced isolation, many performers witnessed, within a matter of hours, the complete disintegration of their jobs and livelihoods.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the arts and entertainment sector has been one of the worst-impacted in the Australian economy, as a result of measures implemented to suppress the spread of the virus, and we know many performers are struggling.

While the safety and well-being of performers and the broader community, which includes our audiences, families and friends, is of paramount concern at this time, the economic and industrial consequences for performers and our industry cannot be ignored.

When COVID-19 first struck, Equity’s focus was on member and performer safety, as well as getting members paid when contracts were terminated, and seeking to negotiate around performers being stood down without pay.

In early March, Equity began planning for the imminent closure of theatres and the screen sector, reviewing the legal position surrounding cancelled contracts and stand-downs, and conducting discussions with Live Performance Australia (LPA), Screen Producers Australia (SPA), Opera Australia, and numerous other producers and impacted casts and workplaces, in order to negotiate suitable arrangements to protect performers.

Throughout this period, Equity has focused on enforcing workplace health and safety rules to ensure our members are not in harm’s way — and we have continued this effort as part of a screen-industry roundtable that is working around the clock to develop return-to-work safety protocols. The working group includes SPA, AFTRS, Screen Australia, state and territory agencies, and various producers. Equity continues to fight a rise in unreasonable waivers and indemnities concerning COVID-19, which are being sought from performers working in television commercials.

The National Performers’ Committee has been meeting weekly to keep on top of the fast-moving situation and, hopefully, many of you will have seen our new-member offer or taken up the MEAA fee-waiver offer for current members affected by COVID-19.

Recently, we conducted two online mass-member meetings for performers who were contracted with theatre companies or commercial producers for 2020, to provide an update on the status of cancelled productions and terminated contracts. Last week, we conducted an online agent briefing, with more than 50 agents participating.

We have also been successful in negotiating a new streaming agreement with LPA for live theatre — a vital tool to assist storytellers in reaching audiences in isolation, while generating new income streams and providing certain protections for performers.

I also acknowledge the tremendous work done by you, our members, in driving Equity’s visions and goals through MEAA’s campaigns over the past two months — #NoWorkerLeftBehind, #SaveOurCreators, the Great Australian Binge — pushing governments and opposition parties to keep our sectors and members afloat, as well as through direct support for the industry and performers generally.

As the nation and the industry look towards a return to work after weeks in isolation, and we begin to contemplate working and living with COVID-19, Equity will continue to fight for the industrial rights of performers, always striving to be a leading voice, driving and shaping the world in which performers live and work.

Andrew Crowley is the director of MEAA Equity. Andrew has been a proud member of Equity since 2000 and has worked as a performer in theatre, television, commercials and regional and schools tours. Beyond his performance work, Andrew completed a law degree and worked extensively in commercial practice before joining the Equity team.