Posted March 7, 200817 yr From WOS - Exclusive: West End performers are willing to take industrial action if London theatre managers do not agree to a 44% minimum wage hike being demanded by Equity. Equity meeting for all members with valid Equity card and non-members (must sign in) on Friday 7 March 2pm at the Actors Church in Covent Garden Piazza SUPPORT IS ESSENTIAL TO MAKING SIGNIFICANT CHANGES!!!! Read more... http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.p...lk-out-over-pay
March 7, 200817 yr They said the story no longer existed when I clicked the link. I should think that a 44% may be enough to close a few shows.
March 7, 200817 yr You are right Meg. It could have a dramatic affect on ticket price which would have a knock on affect on ticket sales :( I hope GWTW isn't affected by this :unsure:
March 7, 200817 yr Why is there always some kind of a hitch with everything D does while others seem to get through things like hot knives through butter? Oh never mind. I've remembered. It's the square in his birth chart. He is fated to get there alright, but not at all easily. Edited March 7, 200817 yr by Baytree
March 7, 200817 yr If he gave up on his dreams at every hurdle, he'd be a doctor or lawyer by now, because he wouldn't have insisted on his right to study music. Mmmmmmm Doctor Danesh................ Form an orderly queue.
March 7, 200817 yr West End actors ready to walk out over pay Published Wednesday 5 March 2008 at 16:40 by Lalayn Baluch Exclusive: West End performers are willing to take industrial action if London theatre managers do not agree to a 44% minimum wage hike being demanded by Equity. Equity president Harry Landis Photo: Stephanie Methven The trade union is currently pushing for the existing basic pay rate for actors working in the West End to increase from £381 per week to £550. A new second minimum wage of £650 is also being sought for performers who are required to work on Sundays. According to Equity president Harry Landis, cast members in shows across the capital have now unanimously rejected a ‘best offer’ increase put forward by the Society of London Theatre. Landis, who described the current minimum wage as a “joke”, explained: “Every cast member was seen. Every one of them turned it down. Every one of them said, ‘We are willing to do whatever it requires to win it, which means if we come out [of the shows], we will come out’. It was wonderful to see such solidarity among all the casts. “When I joined this union there was no rehearsal pay. They said, ‘How are we going to pay you? There is no money coming in from the box office’. Well, they learned, and now they pay rehearsal money. Holiday pay and subsistence pay didn’t exist. We won it because Equity members paid the dues.” However, Landis said he believed a resolution was likely as theatre managers would not risk allowing strike action to go ahead. This point was echoed by Equity spokesperson Martin Brown, who told The Stage: “I think the fact that we have gone to casts and they have said no, SOLT is highly likely to come back and want to talk again.” He explained that while a walkout was not imminent, as cast members had not yet threatened to strike, it was something that they had agreed to consider in order to back the campaign, and was still a possibility for the future. Equity is to hold a meeting this Friday at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden to discuss the situation with all West End cast members and “look to them for guidance” for the next step of the campaign. While Brown declined to reveal further details of the current negotiations, he added: “It is possible that SOLT know of this meeting and it is possible we will have something before that meeting to tell people. But that is in the lap of the gods, I really don’t want to say Equity is expecting something from the employers. “It is down to the employers now. They know the members are unhappy about what SOLT has described as their best offer. It is really down to them now to make a decision if they want to get back with something better.” If the negotiations are successful, it will mark the first significant increase to the West End minimum since 2002. The union’s previous attempts in 2005 to have it rise to £400 were abandoned after a deal could not be reached with SOLT. Equity members last striked in 2003, when choristers refused to perform in the English National Opera’s production of The Trojans - The Capture of Troy, in protest over planned redundancies. At the time it was reported that the cancellation of a show cost the company £50,000 in box office income and thousands more in wages for front of house and production staff. Last year, a 19-day strike by stagehands on Broadway, which saw 26 productions shut down, cost New York’s theatre scene approximately $38 million. SOLT chief executive Richard Pulford said he would not comment on ongoing negotiations.
March 7, 200817 yr I've never heard of the actor's church. Is that what it actually says on the sign? I'm not observant so it doesn't surprise me if I've missed it before.
March 8, 200817 yr Does anyone know if this meeting actually took place? I very much doubt whether the employers could risk a strike - a very short one on Broadway cost $38 million. It looks like it's only a rise in the basic wage they're seeking. In the real world most people will have had a pay rise in the last couple of years. I know it mean a rise in ticket prices but have you seen the price of football matches etc. I was absolutely stunned the last time my broither told me how much his ticket was.
March 9, 200817 yr Surely any union would strike deals which covered all members doing comparative work, no matter where they were in the country? Most occupations have a London allowance on top of the basic. It's not that much when you start working out how many hours they're working, They sometimes have to do rehearsals over and above the eight shows.
March 9, 200817 yr It'll mean more people wont go. A lot wont pay the prices now. Still, I'm never likely to be an actor so it's not something I can really have an opinion on. I just hope it doesn't mean a cut back on cast numbers which will mean even less jobs available. I think not being able to get a break would be terrible.
March 11, 200817 yr The subsidised theatres can absorb more of the cost but the others may have to pass all of the difference on. Apparently the meeting did go ahead and the threat is still there.
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