Mr. Graham Macken:

I am the industrial organiser for the arts and culture sector in the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union, SIPTU, and I have the brief for the film and entertainment section.

I will outline for the committee a brief history of our union. SIPTU was established in 1990 with the merger of the country’s two largest unions, the Irish Transport and General Workers Union and the Federated Workers Union of Ireland. SIPTU currently represents more than 180,000 workers from virtually every category of employment across almost every sector of the Irish economy. SIPTU provides the expertise, experience and back-up services necessary to assist workers in their dealings with employers, Government and industrial relations institutions.

The film and TV industry section of the union falls within the arts and culture sector of the services division of SIPTU. SIPTU represents some construction grades, namely, stagehands and riggers while other unions, including the Building and Allied Trades' Union, BATU, and the Operative Plasterers and Allied Trades Society of Ireland, OPATSI represent the other grades in the construction area, namely, carpenters, plasterers and painters. This group is formally known as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions construction group of unions and has the sole negotiating rights for the construction disciplines in the film and TV industry in the Republic of Ireland. The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, TEEU, now known as CONNECT, also represents electricians in the industry. SIPTU also holds the sole negotiating rights for the shooting crew grades.

I will now address working conditions and developments in the film industry, beginning with the topics of bullying and harassment. The recent sexual harassment allegations in Ireland to date only relate to the theatre sector. No evidence or allegations of sexual harassment have arisen from the film or TV sector in the Republic. There is anecdotal evidence of a problem on the ground in the construction industry, but no specific complaints have been brought to the attention of the union for action. The information to date suggests the possibility of an issue between workers rather than a structural problem.

Within the industry there is a genuine debate about continuity of employment for those workers who are categorised as employees when they are between jobs on film and TV productions. The establishing of a special purpose vehicle, SPV, for each production means that a new company is formed every time a production is made, even when the primary production company is the same. This creates a situation whereby the production company take no responsibility for workers after each production, even when there is little or no gap between productions. It is a new, separate employment each time, so service does not accrue for the workers with any employer. This is an unsatisfactory situation in any terms and the nature of the industry is not a plausible reason for this type of engagement. The general construction industry operates in a similar project-to-project manner and has no issues with continuity of service.

In regard to employment status, there has been some general chatter about the widespread growth of what is referred to as "bogus" self-employment in the film and TV sector. There has certainly been a rise in self-employment, but there is no evidence to suggest that this is bogus, as many workers involved in cameras, sound, and other disciplines insist they are choosing the self-employed route. As a trade union, our preferred position is one of employment and not self-employment, which is why we view it as necessary to narrow the difference between these two types of employment. To achieve this, we need to change the definition of persons to whom the employment legislation applies. The legislation should refer to "workers", as is the case with the Industrial Relations Acts, and not "employees" as in many pieces of employment legislation.

On collective bargaining, pay and general working conditions are negotiated collectively between Screen Producers Ireland, SPI, and the ICTU construction group of unions for construction, and by SIPTU and SPI for the shooting crew grades. We are currently making progress with SPI on an industry pension.

There is a definite gap in the industry when it comes to upskilling, training and development structures for the sector. This has been a matter of discussion with Screen Training Ireland, SPI and SIPTU for some time. It is our view that structures need to be agreed and implemented jointly to create sustainable and quality employment in the industry. There are currently no controls on managing trainees in the industry and SIPTU suggests that a certified log book system be put in place for this purpose. This would prevent trainees being abused by being kept as trainees for far too many years. It also would ensure that all trainee roles are taken up by trainees, rather than by experienced people being used as cheap labour. There must also be a structured development system for all grades so that there is room for progression.

With regard to stakeholder engagement, a film and TV sector stakeholder forum currently exists but it controlled by the Irish Film Board and is not utilised effectively. We are therefore calling for the replacement of this forum with a jointly-led union and industry forum.

The continued funding of this industry is crucial to its growth and development. However, there must be transparency and accountability for compliance with the funding terms, in particular where funding under section 481 is concerned. In order to ensure value for taxpayers' money and to ensure that funding delivers quality and sustainable employment within the industry, we believe there should be annual published audits on compliance in respect of the numbers employed, numbers self-employed and the progression of trainees.

I hope this gives the committee a flavour of the current situation.