MONTREAL, July 10,
2024 /CNW/ - Workers at the Fantasia film festival
will be on strike tomorrow, Thursday, to get the employer to
seriously consider the issues put forward at the bargaining table,
where it is struggling to offer minimum wage to the sixty or so
employees at the 2024 edition of the festival.
"Fantasia wants to keep our freelance status for this year's
festival, even though we've been unionized since September 2023. The employer's lack of
preparation for nearly a year is extremely disappointing," says
Justine Smith, who sits on the
negotiating committee of the Syndicat des employé-es de
l'événementiel–CSN, Festival Fantasia section. A picket line will
therefore be in place tomorrow, July
11, in front of the offices at 1550 De Maisonneuve West in
Montreal.
The Fantasia union, like two other festival unions, the
Fondation Québec Cinéma and the Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC),
which have already signed their first collective agreements, is
part of the Syndicat des employé-es de l'événementiel-CSN.
The union is hoping to reach a tentative agreement at the
bargaining table as soon as possible, to improve the current
working conditions of unionized employees and avoid a continuation
of the strike during the festival, which kicks off on July 18. Further days of strike action could
follow next week if talks do not progress satisfactorily. Union
members had voted unanimously for five strike days at the
appropriate time last June.
A Growing Trend in the Cultural Sector
"Like many workers in the cultural world, event industry
employees want to join a union because they are demanding better
working conditions, namely, to be recognized as workers in their
own right, and to be paid for all hours worked, just like everyone
else who has to pay rent and buy groceries. And stop being treated
as mere freelancers, from whom more work can always be demanded for
the same initial lump sum", says Annick
Charette, President of the FNCC-CSN.
"The CSN is determined to defend the rights of workers in the
cultural sector, who for too long have been left to their own
devices, with working conditions that are highly unequal,
precarious and sometimes even illegal. The minimum wage is already
woefully inadequate. We're fighting to raise it significantly. It's
inconceivable that some people don't even get $15.75 an hour" adds François Enault, 1st
vice-president of the CSN.
About Fantasia
Founded in 1996, the Fantasia International Film Festival is
celebrating its 27th edition this year. With an estimated audience
of over 100,000 visitors since 2016, it has helped popularize
"anti-Hollywood" independent films
in genres as diverse as science fiction, fantasy, comedy and
action, and introduced new talent from around the world.
About the FNCC-CSN
The FNCC–CSN has 6,000 members in 80 unions working in the
fields of communications, journalism and culture. It is one of the
eight federations of the CSN, which brings together 330,000 workers
in the public and private sectors in every region of Quebec.
About the CSN
Founded in 1921, the CSN is Quebec's first major central labour body. Made
up of nearly 1,600 unions, it defends the interests of more than
330,000 workers in all sectors of activity, and takes part in many
of Quebec society's fundamental
debates for a more united, democratic, equitable and sustainable
society.
SOURCE Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture
(FNCC–CSN)