Equity joined unions from across the globe at the International Federation of Actors (FIA) conference in showing solidarity with Palestine and raising our campaign against Spotlight’s ‘Tax on hope’.
An Equity delegation attended the FIA event at the start of October in Auckland, New Zealand, where they tabled an emergency motion to express support for, and solidarity with, Palestinian workers and made contributions on several industrial debates including those relating to casting directories and AI.
The Palestine solidarity motion highlighted a recent complaint made to the International Labour Organisation by a coalition of trade union federations regarding 200,000 Palestinian workers who have been denied millions of dollars of wages for work completed in Israel. The denial of wages is in the context of a deep crisis in the Palestinian labour market because of decades of occupation and conflict.
The Equity emergency motion was passed, committing FIA to supporting the Palestinian workers. A second motion calling for the release of all Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners, including Mustafa Sheta from the Freedom Theatre, was also passed by the conference.
Equity delegates included Paul W Fleming, General Secretary, Lynda Rooke, President, and Equity Council member Fiona Whitelaw.
The conference was composed of the FIA Presidium, an initial Pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony), a day of the FIA North America and English-Speaking Group, and two days of the FIA Executive committee. FIA is a global federation of performers’ trade unions, guilds and professional associations; it is committed to enhancing the social, economic and moral rights entitlements of performers worldwide.
Spotlight and SAG-AFTRA solidarity
Industrial matters of importance for Equity members dominated the programme, including reports from the equalities working groups of FIA; discussions on the impact of reduced live performance on workforces in different countries and fair remuneration for performers on subscription-video-on-demand productions.
Our President, Lynda Rooke, spoke on the panel about casting directories, where Equity’s ongoing campaign against Spotlight’s ‘tax on hope’ was raised. Our campaign received a positive response from our sisters and brothers in unions around the world.
Lynda Rooke addressing a panel on casting directories
Equity Council member Fiona Whitelaw spoke on a panel about AI and voice work, and discussed our campaign to strengthen performers' rights in response to the rise of AI across the entertainment industry.
Paul W. Fleming in conversation with SAG-AFTRA Officer Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
Our General Secretary, Paul W. Fleming, met with SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. Duncan passed on the American union’s heartfelt appreciation for the solidarity Equity members gave during the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023. Paul W. Fleming expressed our ongoing solidarity SAG-AFTRA, commenting that “we will be standing with you again in the video games strike, which is so, so important to our industry. We want a workforce that is focused on resistance, not resilience.”
FIA delegates show solidarity with SAG-AFTRA
During the conference, delegates heard from New Zealand parliamentarians including the Labour spokesperson for the arts, the secretary of the New Zealand Confederation of Trade Unions, and the Green Party spokesperson for workplace relations. Paul W. Fleming met with the New Zealand government’s Arts Minister and the Arts spokesperson from their coalition partner in Wellington.
Equity has been asked to co-ordinate the European FIA meetings for the next two years. FIA Congress will be held in Birmingham next year (2025), where a new FIA President and Presidium will be elected. Our particularly active role over the next few years will help to cement our position as a key union driving and shaping the federation’s international work.
Find out more about our international work
