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Mark Field MP |
THEATRELAND STRIKE CRISIS
Actors’ union Equity threaten show stopper over wages row
THEATRELAND is on a collision course with acting unions after performers balloted to walk out on strike over pay.
Equity, representing 1,000 West End actors, has warned performances could be subject to last-minute cancellations unless their demands are met.
With the industry booming and recording record profits last year, they are calling for a 44 per cent hike, taking the minimum weekly wage to £550.
Equity president Harry Landis described the current £381 wage – less than £50 a show – as a “joke” at an emergency meeting on Friday in St Paul’s, the actors’ church, Covent Garden.
A “best offer” increase put forward by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), which represents theatres in the West End, was rejected by a majority of the 300 attending the meeting.
Speaking to industry paper The Stage last week, Equity president Harry Landis said he would support a walk-out.
A spokesman said: “People think working in the West End is a doddle but they don’t realise just how gruelling the work is. Over half of the cast in these big shows have second jobs to support themselves as well as the usual eight shows a week. The minimum wage as it stands is just not good enough.”
The spokesman confirmed they were in ?negotiations but declined to reveal further details.
He added: “Our objective is to get a settlement as soon as possible. It is down to them now to make a decision if they want to get back with something better.”
The London Assembly is investigating how future funding for the West End’s 40 playhouses could be raised.
Mark Field, Conservative MP for Cities and Westminster, said a levy could be put on producers’ profits to help theatre managers.
He said: “Despite the boom in ticket sales it is the producers that hire venues, not the theatre-owners themselves, who take box office receipts.
“The need for a levy on each ticket sold is therefore one idea that is being debated in order for the real estate to live up to the demands of modern theatre-goers.”
In 2005, Equity lobbied for a £400 minimum wage but they could not strike a deal with SOLT.
Should actors go on strike, it would be the first time since 2003 when choristers refused to perform in the English National Opera in protest at planned redundancies. |
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