Directors Guild Of Canada BC Releases Details Of Tentative Agreement That Will End Unusual Labor Dispute In British Columbia
deadline.comThe Directors Guild of Canada BC has released the terms of a tentative agreement that ended the recent labor dispute in British Columbia.
The new three-year deal with the AMPTP and Canadian Media Producers Association includes what the guild says are “significant gains” for the lowest paid and entry level workers, as well as new provisions to deal with brutally-long workdays.The tentative agreement was reached on June 8 after 15 months of on-again off-again bargaining.
The deal will end an unusual labor dispute that saw the guild issue a “strike notice” back in April but never actually go on strike due to a quirk in Canadian labor law, which gives “safe harbor” to production companies so that they can keep on shooting as long as they agree to sign a new contract when it’s finalized.
All those companies that had been filming in the province had signed safe harbor agreements and are now bound by the terms of the new contract, once it’s ratified by the guild’s members.“I’m so proud of the solidarity shown by our members through these long and challenging negotiations,” said Allan Harmon, District Council chairman of the DGC BC. “The membership’s resolve drove significant gains, especially for the lowest paid and entry level workers.” “This agreement will help the entire industry here in BC,” said Kendrie Upton, the guild’s executive director. “As a union, the number one tool we have to build and diversify the industry’s workforce is a strong, fair collective agreement.
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