NZ govt. rewrites labour laws to appease film studio
Labour
Is India really trying hard to stop child labour?
Cuba's Communist Govt To Allow Home Ownership
Blue Laws
Delhi Govt. Propose To Bring ‘Delhi Tourist Safety Act’
New Zealand's government has changed the country's labour laws to end a dispute between actors unions and Warner Brothers. Actors unions in New Zealand and Australia had blacklisted 'The Hobbit' insisting that a collective agreement be negotiated for actors working on the film. According to the New Zealand actors union, Actors Equity; “the existing guidelines for the engagement of performers in the screen industry (“The Pink Book”) are rarely complied with in their entirety, and performers have been unable to insist on such compliance.” What actors were asking for was hardly extreme, but director Peter Jackson and American Studio Warner Brothers response was threatening to move production of the Hobbit to Eastern Europe. This provoked a furore of nationalist sentiment including rallies -some of them held ironically on labour day- calling for the Hobbit to be filmed in New Zealand. Unionists and actors were abused, and even received death threats. The government seized upon this, passing a bill under urgency. ABC news' Hollywood reporter wrote:
The legislation, which impedes or prevents unionization of film industry workers in the country, passed 66-50 on a party-line vote Friday local time, with the ruling center-right National Party and its partners in favor, and center-left Labour and the Greens opposed. National emphasized the financial benefit of retaining the "Hobbit" production in country and described the legislation as a clarification of existing law. Labour, in contrast, charged angrily that the move "reduced New Zealand to a client state of a U.S. movie studio."
Workers on film projects will be 'independent contractors' rather than employees, and as such won't be able to bargain collectively. Andrew Little, president of the country's largest private sector union, the EPMU, stated that “Such "contractor" agreements have the effect of denying workers access to employment protections including minimum standards, personal grievances and holiday rights even though a worker may operate and be managed as if they are employed under a conventional employment agreement,”. The bill also affects workers engaged in video game production.
