2013 EquityUK Annual Report by Caron Lyon

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

EQUITY ANNUAL REPORT 2013 THE EIGHTY THIRD ANNUAL REPORT

Adopted by the Council at its meeting held on April 28, 2014 for submission to the Annual Representative Conference 18 & 19 May, 2014

Equity Incorporating the Variety Artistes’ Federation Guild House Upper St Martin’s Lane London WC2H 9EG Tel: 020 7379 6000 Fax: 020 7379 7001 E-mail: info@equity.org.uk Website: www.equity.org.uk

CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: GENERAL

A. ANNUAL REPRESENTATIVE CONFERENCE................................................................................................................ 7 B. BALLOTS................................................................................................................................................................... 7 C. LOBBYING ACTIVITY................................................................................................................................................. 7 D. MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION..................................................................................................................... 9 E. RECRUITMENT & RETENTION................................................................................................................................ 12 F. CLARENCE DERWENT AWARDS.............................................................................................................................. 12

CHAPTER 2: INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANISING

A. GENERAL............................................................................................................................................................... 13

CHAPTER 3: LIVE PERFORMANCE

A. GENERAL............................................................................................................................................................... 14 B. LONDON THEATRE................................................................................................................................................. 14 C. COMMERCIAL AND SUBSIDISED THEATRE ............................................................................................................ 16 D. ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE.................................................................................................................................... 20 E. ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY............................................................................................................................ 21 F. INDEPENDENT THEATRE ARTS (Formerly Small Scale Theatre) .............................................................................22 G. OPERA................................................................................................................................................................... 23 H. SINGERS................................................................................................................................................................. 28 I. BALLET AND DANCE................................................................................................................................................ 28 J. VARIETY AND CIRCUS............................................................................................................................................. 33

CHAPTER 4: RECORDED MEDIA

A. CINEMA FILMS . .................................................................................................................................................... 41 B. TELEVISION............................................................................................................................................................ 42 C. TV AND NEW MEDIA COMMERCIALS ................................................................................................................... 47 D. CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT................................................................................................................................... 48 E. AUDIO, RADIO & RECORDING................................................................................................................................ 49

CHAPTER 5: INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES

A. BRITISH/AMERICAN EQUITY EXCHANGES.............................................................................................................. 52

CHAPTER 6: INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ACTORS

A. EUROFIA................................................................................................................................................................ 53 B. FIA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & ENGLISH SPEAKING GROUP..................................................................................53

CHAPTER 7: RELATIONSHIP WITH OUTSIDE BODIES

A. AMNESTY............................................................................................................................................................... 54 B. BRITISH COPYRIGHT COUNCIL............................................................................................................................... 54 C. BRITISH EQUITY COLLECTING SOCIETY (BECS)....................................................................................................... 54 D. DANCE UK.............................................................................................................................................................. 54 E. EQUITY CHARITABLE TRUST (FORMERLY EQUITY TRUST FUND)............................................................................54 F. THE EVELYN NORRIS TRUST.................................................................................................................................... 55 G. EDUCATIONAL RECORDING AGENCY (ERA) .......................................................................................................... 55 H. FEU (FEDERATION OF ENTERTAINMENT UNIONS)................................................................................................ 55 I. THE INTERNATIONAL PERFORMERS AID TRUST (IPAT)............................................................................................56 J. LIBERTY................................................................................................................................................................... 57 K. PERFORMERS ALLIANCE........................................................................................................................................ 57 L. PPL......................................................................................................................................................................... 57 M. SECTOR SKILLS COUNCIL....................................................................................................................................... 58 N. TRADES UNION CONGRESS................................................................................................................................... 58 O. BAPAM.................................................................................................................................................................. 62 P. CDET....................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Q. DRAMA UK........................................................................................................................................................... 62 R. JUSTICE FOR COLOMBIA..................................................................................................................................... 63

CHAPTER 8: COUNCIL

A. MEETINGS............................................................................................................................................................. 64

CHAPTER 9: APPEALS AND STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEES

THE APPEALS AND STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEES...............................................................................................65

CHAPTER 10: NATIONAL, AREA, INDUSTRIAL & SPECIALIST COMMITTEES

A. NATIONAL COMMITTEES....................................................................................................................................... 66 1. Northern Ireland............................................................................................................................................... 66 2. Scotland............................................................................................................................................................68 3. Wales................................................................................................................................................................69 B. REGIONAL COMMITTEES....................................................................................................................................... 76 1. Midlands Area ................................................................................................................................................. 76 2. Northern ..........................................................................................................................................................77 3. South East......................................................................................................................................................... 84 4. South West....................................................................................................................................................... 85 C. INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEES.................................................................................................................................... 87 1. Screen & New Media Committee.....................................................................................................................87 2. Variety, Circus & Entertainers Committee........................................................................................................88 3. Stage Committee.............................................................................................................................................. 88 D. SPECIALIST COMMITTEES 1. Audio Committee............................................................................................................................................. 90 2. Concert and Session Singers Committee..........................................................................................................91 3. Independent Theatre Arts Committee (ITAC)................................................................................................... 92 4. International Committee for Artists’ Freedom (ICAF).......................................................................................92 5. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trangendered Committee......................................................................................93 6. Deaf and Disabled Members Committee.........................................................................................................93 7. Minority Ethnic Members’ Committee.............................................................................................................94 8. Women’s Committee........................................................................................................................................95 9. Models’ Committee..........................................................................................................................................95 10. Stage Management Committee........................................................................................................................95 11. Stunt Committee.............................................................................................................................................. 96 12. Theatre Designers’ Committee.........................................................................................................................96 13. Theatre Directors’ Committee..........................................................................................................................96 14. Theatre Fight Directors’ Committee.................................................................................................................96 15. Theatre Safety Committee................................................................................................................................97 16. Walk On and Supporting Artists Committee..................................................................................................... 97 17. West End Deputies Committee.........................................................................................................................97 18. Young Members’ Committee............................................................................................................................97

CHAPTER 11: STAFF CHANGES

A. STAFF CHANGES 2013............................................................................................................................................ 98

CHAPTER 12: MEMBERSHIP

A. MEMBERSHIP AT DECEMBER 31, 2013.................................................................................................................. 99

CHAPTER 13: OTHER BENEFITS

A. BENEVOLENT FUND............................................................................................................................................ 101 B. FOREIGN LANGUAGE REGISTERS......................................................................................................................... 101 C. INSURANCE.......................................................................................................................................................... 101 D. EQUITY PENSION SCHEME (EPS)......................................................................................................................... 101 E. LEGAL ADVICE AND PROTECTION........................................................................................................................ 102 F. TAX, NATIONAL INSURANCE, WELFARE BENEFITS & TAX CREDITS ......................................................................102

CHAPTER 14: IN MEMORIAM

A. IN MEMORIAM.................................................................................................................................................... 104

APPENDICES

1. Annual Representative Conference Minutes....................................................................................................... 108 2. Committee Elections . ......................................................................................................................................... 132 3. Variety Branch Officials........................................................................................................................................ 134 4. Variety Advisory Committee................................................................................................................................ 137 5. Members of Staff................................................................................................................................................. 138 6. General Branches................................................................................................................................................. 140

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

CHAPTER 1:

GENERAL A. ANNUAL REPRESENTATIVE CONFERENCE The 2013 Annual Representative Conference was held at The Ibis Hotel, Earls Court, London on 19th and 20th May 2013. Maximum attendance: 194 with 37 Councillors, 108 Representatives from English AGMs, Branches and Committees (including 29 first-time attendees), 3 Standing Orders Committee members and 1 Trustee in attendance. There were 36 Observers and 9 Visitors.

B. BALLOTS

Voting took place in 2013 for the Equity Council’s new network of committees, at the heart of which are three powerful industrial committees — Screen, Stage and Variety, Circus and Entertainers. The results can be found in appendix 2.

C. LOBBYING ACTIVITY In 2013 Equity continued to be active in its efforts to campaign and lobby against cuts to arts funding and local government grants and good progress was made on a number of other issues including entertainment licensing and broadcasting. Other major issues this year included the National Insurance status of our members and copyright reform. The Performers Alliance Parliamentary Group became the Performers Alliance All Party Parliamentary Group at the start of 2013. Following the AGM in early 2013 Kerry McCarthy MP was re-elected Chair of the Performers Alliance APPG. Michael Connarty MP, Lord Clement-Jones and John Whittingdale MP continue as Vice Chairs and Pete Wishart MP is now Secretary. The Group was very active during 2013 with members raising the unions’ views during parliamentary debates and Departmental Questions on copyright, the National Minimum Wage, the BBC and arts funding. In December the Group hosted another very successful Christmas reception. Around 20 high profile members of Equity attended this event, along with a number of Equity staff members. 75 MPs and Peers were also in attendance. Earlier in 2013 the Group also hosted a Q&A session with the new Chair of Arts Council England, Sir Peter Bazalgette. Consultations

Equity responded to a total of 16 consultations during 2013. The consultations were issued by organisations including the Department for Culture Media and Sport, Department for Education, Department for Communities and Local Government, the London Assembly, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the European Commission, the Low Pay Commission, HMRC and the United Nations. The following is a summary of the key areas of activity undertaken by Equity in 2013: Arts Funding

The My Theatre Matters! campaign was launched in early 2013. MTM brought together Equity, the Theatrical Management Association and The Stage newspaper as partners in a new campaign to activate audience members in theatres throughout the country and to encourage them through various activities to engage with councils on the issue of funding for local theatres. Campaign activities included curtain call speeches undertaken by Equity members working in theatres around the country and the collation of hundreds of testimonials from audience members and Equity members, including a number of high profile performers, which were then published on the My Theatre Matters! website. Towards the end of 2013 Equity sought to engage parliamentarians in the campaign through one to one meetings and by featuring MTM materials in the Performers Alliance Christmas reception. The Lost Arts Campaign, which is supported by Equity, the Federation of Entertainment Unions, Prospect and the Public and Commercial Services Union, continued to catalogue the effect of arts cuts across the country and expanded its activities to include engagement with MPs and direct action. A twitter campaign was initiated by Lost Arts in summer 2013 to alert MPs to losses suffered by arts organisations in their constituencies and to coincide with the Liberal Democrat party conference a human chain protest organised by Lost Arts and attended by around 50 London based members of Equity, took place outside the National Gallery in London.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Following the news that Newcastle City Council had decided to withdraw 100% of its funding for culture and the arts at the start of 2013, Equity lobbied Newcastle’s MPs and organised a meeting in the city on 11th January between Live Theatre, Dance City, Northern Stage, Theatre Royal, Equity members who have worked in these venues and two of the three central Newcastle MPs – Catherine McKinnell and Nick Brown. Following further campaigning and an intervention by the Shadow Secretary State for Culture, Harriet Harman, Newcastle City Council revised the cut down to 50%. Towards the end of 2013 Equity again initiated a grassroots campaign against the imposition of a 100% funding cut to Nottingham Playhouse and was also active in the campaign against Westminster Council’s decision to withdraw 100% of its arts budget. Throughout 2013 Equity provided briefing material to MPs on the effects of arts cuts including a substantial written briefing in advance of an Opposition day debate on the economic and social importance of the arts organised by the Labour Party – the first debate on this issue in the last 5 years. Broadcasting & BBC

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

public subsidy for the arts and cultural organisations should be to make sure that performers and other creative workers receive a living wage? 55.9% of respondents either strongly or somewhat agreed and just 16.4% either strongly or somewhat disagreed. The poll data, which included a breakdown by political party allegiance, was used as part of Equity’s evidence base in its continuing Low Pay No Pay campaign activities. At the 2013 Christmas Parliamentary reception a report from the Performers Alliance All Party Group, written by Equity and the Musicians Union, entitled Work Not Play: The rise of low and no pay work in the entertainment industries was launched. The report pulled together the key issues for performers and creative workers with regard to low and no pay and proposed a series of recommendations requiring action from politicians. One such recommendation was the provision of sector specific advice for the creative industries. Equity continued to push hard for improvements to the advice provided by Government in this area during 2013, particularly through oral and written evidence to the Low Pay Commission. Equity also met with officials from the Department for Business and Employment Minister Jo Swinson to reach agreement on what kind of advice is necessary for the sector.

A number of activities were undertaken in order to advance the Broadcasting in the Nations campaign. Equity made submissions to a number of Ofcom consultations and called for broadcasters whose licences were up for renewal during 2013 (UTV, Channel 5 and Channel 4 in particular) to be compelled to produce more content in the UK’s Nations. Activists in the Nations continued to campaign and lobby proactively on this issue attracting coverage in the Sunday Times as well as gaining the support of many more MLAs and MSPs. Despite previous correspondence from Ofcom which indicated that a consultation on this issue would not be appropriate, at a meeting with FEU in the middle of 2013 Ofcom indicated that they had been following the campaign closely and were keen to meet with Equity separately to discuss the issues in more depth. This meeting took place in late 2013 and Equity’s officials urged Ofcom to run a new public consultation on the regional production definition and to develop changes that would lead to a meaningful incorporation of on-screen talent. During 2013 Equity also supported the efforts of the Campaign for Regional Broadcasting Midlands to argue for more production, particularly by the BBC, in the Midlands. Equity also supplied briefing material to MPs in advance of a number of debates in parliament about Governance and the future of the BBC. These briefings focussed on the Broadcasting in the Nations campaign as well as the need to support investment in drama and radio content and to resist further cuts to the licence fee.

Licensing Act & Variety

Equity worked closely with the Labour Party’s Commission on Older Women during 2013, providing written submissions, attending roundtables and organising meetings with MPs and officials coordinating the Commission’s work. One of the key strands of the Commission’s work was looking at older women in the media and public life. Equity’s Women’s Committee and the Vice President Jean Rogers were able to provide valuable insights on portrayal and the lack work opportunities for older women in the media. Equity wrote to all UK MEPs in May 2013 in advance of a vote in the European Parliament to determine the scope of the mandate for the European Commission in its preliminary talks with the US with a view to reaching a Transatlantic Trade Partnership (free trade deal). Equity and other European members of FIA (the International Federation of Actors) feared that the inclusion of cultural goods within the negotiating remit of the European Commission could have negative consequences for Europe’s creative industries and in particular could threaten film tax relief and other measures to support the sector. Equity received supportive messages from a number of MEPs and despite a majority of UK, Swedish and Dutch MEPs voting to include all sectors in the mandate, the vote of the European Parliament was 381 votes in favour of an exclusion for audiovisual and cultural goods and services, 191 against and 17 abstentions.

In early 2013 the Government, via the Intellectual Property Office, published Modernising Copyright which outlined how it would take forward a number of new proposals on copyright exceptions. These exceptions would allow private copying of content that has been legally purchased on to any device for personal use without providing any form of compensation to rights holders, limited copying on a fair dealing basis for the purpose of parody, caricature and pastiche and the copying of sound recordings, films and broadcasts for non commercial purposes. Through our own efforts and our membership of the British Copyright Council Equity lobbied extensively on these changes by responding to consultations conducted by the IPO and by briefing MPs asking questions in parliament about the need and evidence base for the changes. General Secretary Christine Payne continued in her role as Chair of the Creative Coalition Campaign. The CCC was active on a number of fronts relating to illegal downloading and combating piracy during 2013. At the start of the year the CCC held a reception in the Strangers Dining Room in Westminster to launch a video campaign on the value of the creative industries, featuring interviews with a selection of MPs from all of the major political parties. Christine Payne spoke at the event, along with Kevin Barron MP, and introduced the video on behalf of the CCC. Around 20 MPs attended. Later in 2013 the CCC launched a mass petition about the value of intellectual property and made significant progress towards the conclusion of a voluntary agreement between industry partners and Internet Service Providers on illegal downloading. Low Pay No Pay

In March Equity took part in consultation meetings with Tom Copley from the London Assembly in order to influence the Assembly’s investigation into London’s Small Theatres. Equity’s submissions focussed on the conditions experienced by our members working in the fringe. Later in 2013 Equity provided further evidence to the Assembly’s Economy Committee as part of its investigation into the London Living Wage. Through the Unions 21 Fair Work Commission, which reported in Spring 2013 at the Unions 21 Conference, Equity was able to put a question to a poll of 1000 voters asking: Do you agree or disagree that one of the purposes of

Following lobbing by Equity in January 2013 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced further deregulation of entertainment. The new changes removed the requirement for entertainment licenses, between 8am and 11pm, for indoor sport activities for audiences of 1000 or less, plays and dance performances to audiences of 500 or less, and live and recorded music in alcohol licensed premises for audiences of 500 or less. During 2013 the permitted audience ceiling of the Live Music Act was also raised from 200 to 500. Equity also became active in response to proposals from the Department for Education to remove a section of the Education Act which enables circus and other workers to avoid criminal prosecution for failing to ensure that their children attend school while children are on tour or travelling with parents for work. Equity wrote to Education Minister Liz Truss about this issue, lobbied Department officials for the revision of the proposals and supported a petition and adjournment debate in parliament on the issue by Richard Graham MP. Equity argued that currently a number of provisions are in place to support the education of these children including mobile tutoring, home schooling, reserving school places at one ‘winter school’ and remote and e-learning. Other activities

D. MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION Job Information Service Acting Male: 380 Acting Female: 398 Dance Male: 155 Dance Female: 143 Singing: 178 Variety: 92 Non-Performing: 112 Total: 1458

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

JOB PROVIDERS Casting Directors: Pippa Ailion: Billy Elliot (musical), West End; The Lion King (musical), West End/ Tour; Wicked, West End/Tour; We Will Rock You, West End; The Book of Mormon; Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Debbie O’ Brien: Thriller Live, West End; Starlight Express, Germany; Carnaby Street the Musical; The Bodyguard; pantomimes Dick Whittington, Sleeping Beauty, Jack & the Beanstalk. Jill Green Casting: X-Factor the Musical; The Scottsboro Boys. Producers: AIDA Entertainment, Belinda King Creative Productions, PEEL, Disney Theatrical Productions, Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. Theatre Companies & Regional Theatres: Octagon Bolton, National Theatre Wales, Royal & Derngate, Royal Exchange Theatre, Northern Stage, New Wolsey Theatre, Dundee Rep, Chichester Festival Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Sheffield Theatres, Oxford Playhouse, Theatre by the Lake, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Richmond Theatre, Northern Stage, Hull Truck, Dark Horse Theatre Company, Spectacle Theatre Company, Traverse Theatre, The Dukes Lancaster, New Vic Theatre, The Theatre Chipping Norton, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Theatre Royal Wakefield, The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. Theatre in Education & Small Scale Theatre Companies: Caboodle Theatre in Education, Sense Theatre, Quantum Theatre for Science, Little Angel Theatre, Oily Cart, Sixth Sense Theatre For Young People, Image Musical Theatre, Altru Drama, Konflux Theatre in Education, Makebelieve Arts, Kazzum, Kinetic Theatre Company, Sixth Sense Theatre for Young People, The Appletree Organisation, Montage Theatre Arts, Licketyspit, Polka Theatre, Bigfoot Arts Education, The Orange Tree Theatre. Overseas Theatre Companies: Vienna’s English Theatre, The English Theatre of Hamburg. Universities, Schools, Colleges, Higher/Further Education: University of Southampton, Derby College, Eton College, Tiffin School, Norwich School, Rendcomb College, Cheltenham College, King’s Ely, Queenswood, St. Edward’s Oxford, Dundee College, Robert Gordon University, Morley College, Blackpool & the Fylde College, Oxbridge Programs. Drama & Performing Arts Training: Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Mountview, The BRIT School, Sylvia Young Theatre School, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, East 15 Acting School. Weekend Performing Arts Schools & Youth Theatres: Theatretrain, Stagecoach, Pauline Quirke Academy, Debutots, Razzamataz, Perform. Roleplay and Events: Roleplay UK, Thursford Christmas Spectacular. Opera Companies: Royal Opera House, Royal Opera House Education, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera. Entertainment/Attractions/Holiday Parks: Moulin Rouge, Legoland Windsor, Old Palace, Hatfield, Siblu, Leeds Castle, E3 Group, Lapland UK, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Tokyo Disney Resort, Bourne Leisure, Butlins, Universal Studios Singapore, The London Dungeon, The Blackpool Tower Dungeon, Tudor World, Alton Towers, The Benjamin Franklin House. Cruise Entertainment: Seabourn, Royal Caribbean Productions. Children’s Entertainment: Froggle Parties, Sublime Science, Kidscience.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Arts Organisations/Museums: Tara Arts, Mainstream Theatre Arts, Mantle Arts, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Sherman Cymru. Dance Companies & Dance Training: National Dance Company Wales, Ballet Cymru, Stopgap Dance Company, Trinity Laban, Dance City, The Generating Company, Rambert Dance Company, DV8, Michael Clark Company, Northern Ballet, Yorkshire Dance, Riverdance, The Place, Earthfall, Candoco Dance Company, Ludus Dance, Motionhouse, DanceEast, English National Ballet. Circus Arts: Circus Space, Greentop Circus, Ockham’s Razor.

Events

In 2013 Equity members and Organisers representing the union participated in the following as exhibitors, panellists, workshop providers and speakers further raising the profile of Equity amongst members and potential members and within the wider industry: ActorsExpo; Blackpool Magic Convention; Bright Young Things; Brighton Fringe Festival; British Ring Magic Convention; British Juggling Convention; Catholic Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) Annual Student Event; Chortle Comedy Conference; Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival; Clowns International Convention; Edinburgh Festivals; Keeping It Live Showcases; Launch!; Leicester Comedy Festival; London Fashion Weeks; Move it ; National Student Drama Festival; Perform; Performers’ Alliance Parliamentary Reception; Showzam; Spark Children’s Arts Festival; Surviving Actors; Take Off Festival; Various student showcases. We also toured the country giving seminars on the changes that will affect members under Universal Credit; worked with the Stage Management Association on a series of briefing brunches; hosted the Equity Deputy Network Tea with casting director Wendy Spon, ran the Clarence Derwent Awards Ceremony; organised a major event with members from the dance community; worked with members based in and around Los Angeles on an event to bring them together and develop a presence for Equity in LA and presented our annual Student and Young Member Bursaries. We also toured the country giving seminars on the changes that will affect members under Universal Credit; worked with the Stage Management Association on a series of briefing brunches; hosted the Equity Deputy Network Tea with casting director Wendy Spon, ran the Clarence Derwent Awards Ceremony; organised a major event with members from the dance community; worked with members based in and around Los Angeles on an event to bring them together and develop a presence for Equity in LA and presented our annual Student and Young Member Bursaries. Working with the Actors’ Centre we ran our first joint Open House Day making free sessions, careers advice, panels and information available in both venues to members and non-members to introduce people to both organisations. We will be continuing the initiative in 2014.

Website and Social Media

(www.equity.org.uk) and Social Media (www.facebook.com, www.twitter.com etc). The website continued to develop in 2013 with the creation of the Online Branch (to be launched in 2014). The joining and re-joining Equity features continue to get a lot of traffic and more members have added themselves to the online directories. Branches got the ability to add images to the site. Social media activity under the banner EquityUK became even more active with well over 11,000 people using our Facebook page and just under 29k followers (which includes journalists, news organisations, arts organisations as well as members) on Twitter. In 2013, @equity_events continued to develop the union’s profile on Twitter as regards our outreach activities and opportunities.

Training

During 2013 some of our activist training included an induction day for members newly elected to Committees, sessions on branch development and bitesize sessions with specific groups of members. Our joint Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) project continued to be very popular with Equity being the lead union as regards working with the funders (UnionLearn) on delivering training both in workshop format and online to members of Equity, The Musicians Union, the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) and NUJ (National Union of Journalists). The workshops continued to be popular and the range of subjects increased to include topics around stress management and motivation. The online resources also grew with online courses and lots of materials all available as part of www.feutraining. org. Members should register with the site to access these and a range of resources, top tips and fact sheets and

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

to find out about upcoming workshops. All these resources are free for members. At the end of 2013 we were successful in securing extension project funding from UnionLearn for a further 12 months. During the Equity@ Edinburgh week of workshop activity, we ran a series of successful sessions on: Stage Management, Universal Credit and Freelance Survival. We also ran a daily Drop-in Advice Zone for people to raise issues or problems they were experiencing or to find out more general information. Equity officials were panellists at sessions organised by the Fringe and participated the Fringe Fair sessions. Equity members in the East of Scotland General Branch ran a session on stress in the entertainment industry to look at the causes and discuss possible solutions. All our Edinburgh workshops are free of charge and we publicise them by email, on the website and in other ways. In Wales our multi-union partnership CULT Cymru continued and the programme of short continuing professional development (CPD) workshops delivered accessible training to Equity members and those of sister unions (BECTU, WGGB, MU). For more information members in Wales should look at www.cultcymru.org. Throughout 2013 Equity’s three Careers and Learning Advisors delivered one-to-one sessions to members who contacted them directly via www.equity.org.uk/jobs-career. The advisors also contributed to some of our outreach work by delivering workshops and one-to-one advice at events. All three are Equity members who continue to work as performers and who have been trained to the national gold standard for delivering Information, Advice and Guidance.

Publications

We continued the ongoing review of our recruitment materials and created a new suite of leaflets and other print for specific areas of the industry. We encourage members to get supplies of these from Head Office (020 7670 0273) to put into green rooms, notice boards etc wherever you are working. The Equity Diary continued to be well-received and was sent out with the August issue of the magazine. It is sent to members and student members whose subscriptions are up to date and to new members with their first card. A guide to Equity’s insurance was produced.

Recruitment and retention

2013 saw a new record total of paying members – 36,225 – up 2.5% on 2012. We also achieved a new high end of year in benefit total (including life members etc) of 38,197, a rise of 2.1%. The rate of growth in 2013 was higher than the rate of growth in 2012 (2.3% and 1,8% respectively). The number of new members was a very respectable 3,060, the third highest total in the last decade and an increase of 7% on 2012. Rejoins were also up by 1.7%, with the highest total since 2008. In terms of areas of growth for new members, there were good results in 2013 for actors particularly in the West End and Commercial Theatre (up 138% and 169% respectively), and positive signs in PACT & BBC TV and overseas. Singers saw a large percentage increase from a small base, and dancers, stage management and variety remained almost exactly at 2012 levels. One big success has been the number of student converting to full membership via the graduate scheme, which is up 15.3% year on year to a new high. However this has partially contributed to a decline in registered student members, which will continue to be a priority in 2014. 2013 was an extremely positive year, with good figures and new records in many places., and thanks must go to staff and members for all their efforts.

Clarence Derwent Awards This 2013 winners were Paul Chahidi for the role of Maria in Twelfth Night at Shakespeare’s Globe and Fenella Woolgar for her portrayal of Thea Elvsted in Hedda Gabler at the Old Vic.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

CHAPTER 2:

INDUSTRIAL & ORGANISING Equity’s Industrial and Organising work in 2013 is outlined in the next section of the Annual Report in relation to industrial and throughout the report in relation to organising. The task of implementing Conference and Council industrial policy continues to be undertaken in conjunction with the two Heads of Department in Live Performance and Recorded Media, Hilary Hadley and John Barclay. Organising work was co-ordinated throughout the organisation in conjunction with Louise McMullan, Head of the General Secretary’s Department. Some highlights of the year. The West End Agreement negotiation, under the banner of ‘Rewarding Responsibility’, was finalised in conjunction with the West End Working Party and the West End Deputies’ Committee, achieving important improvements both in the minimum rates and in relation to minimum terms and conditions. This negotiation combined with the elimination of low pay rates last time round leaves members with an improved West End Agreement achieved across two negotiation periods. I pay tribute to the officials, deputies and members involved in this important piece of industrial work. In Recorded Media following Equity negotiators’ work with members and agents to achieve interim deals on minimum rates at the BBC by 3% and at ITV by 4% from 1 January 2013, an interim rates deal of 3% was also achieved at PACT. Collective deals with BPI and the radio stations are also continuing to be pursued. In addition agreements on a series of Daytime Repeats on six titles across BBC1 and BBC2 unlocked millions of pounds of value on programming that the Corporation would not otherwise have shown. The Union continued to advance ‘Low Pay No Pay’ issues across our industries including by way of National Minimum Wage cases in the Employment Tribunal and advertising at the end of the year for a ‘Low Pay/No Pay’ industrial organiser to take this work forward to a new level in line with ‘Organising for Success’, the Union’s organising strategy. ‘Organising for Success’ continues to bring members and officials together to campaign on agreed industrial and professional priorities. Equity campaigns to ensure Government supports theatre at the local level through ‘My Theatre Matters’ in alliance with UK Theatre and The Stage. Members have encouraged audiences through curtain call speeches to send postcards to their local council thanking them for the investment they make in cultural activity. The Campaigners Network has continued to develop and a ‘how to’ campaign resource was put together by the end of the year that will be promoted to Branches to assist their campaigning to compliment the work Equity members and Equity officials have continued to do up and down the country in support of theatres like the Nottingham Playhouse, facing cuts from their local authority. In Variety a similar campaign highlighting further the plight of clubs and pubs has been discussed through the ‘Variety, Circus and Entertainers Industrial Committee’ and is now in development and will be launched in the coming period. In Recorded Media the new ‘Screen and New Media Industrial Committee’ co-ordinated the preparation of a claim for the re-negotiation of the Cinema Films Agreement as one of its first actions following formation. The Stage Industrial Committee has begun the work of establishing working parties to address the agreements in that industrial sector. Recruitment and Retention, co-ordinated by Matt Hood, Head of Department for Communication and Member Support saw Equity end 2013 as a Union of approximately 38,000 in benefit members; another annual increase! Deputies Networks and regular workplace meetings continued and contributed to the increased member numbers, an increase in subscription income and an operational and overall surplus. The work linking the workplaces, the Branches, individual Equity members and Equity officials ever more tightly and ever more deeply on common agendas also continues and continues to increase the possibility of successfully developing the Union’s industrial and organising policy objectives. In an era where the goals of trade unionism are increasingly difficult to advance, Equity as a progressive organising and campaigning Union continues to grow, continues to develop its financial stability, continues to reform its structures, seeks to develop tighter priorities and continues to make an impact on the issues members are concerned about. It is impossible to achieve everything and it is increasingly important to get the message across that the chances of success are directly related to the number of members who become involved in using the Union’s structures and resources to advance campaigning and to seek outcomes directly relevant to members’ expectations. Equity cannot be an organisation detached from the majority aspirations of its membership but only by ordinary members and professional trade union officials working together on an agreed agenda for change in line with conference and Council policy objectives, can proper advancement be made. Stephen Spence, Assistant General Secretary, Industrial and Organising

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

CHAPTER 3:

LIVE PERFORMANCE A. GENERAL

i. Theatre Fight Directors Theatre Fight Directors Agreement No deal was reached in 2013 for a raise in the minima for fight directors. A claim was lodged in 2012 for RPI up to 3.5%, but the TMA, SOLT and ITC have not responded positively. Negotiations are ongoing. The Working Party for these negotiations is the Fight Directors Working Party listed below. Andrew Ashenden – Chair Renny Krupinski/Kate Waters – in run-off vote for vice-chair, result pending Philip d’Orleans – Minutes Secretary ii. Overseas Touring A new Agreement was made with the TMA on a trial basis to simplify and make more consistent the per diem rates particularly across Europe. A European rate is set for those staying in hotels with breakfast provided at 45 Euros and rates set for Russia, Japan, Australia and South Korea. To avoid over-complicating per diem touring shows to the US, the TMA has agreed with Equity that the per diem rates to be used by TMA members are those set out by the US government’s ‘General Services Administration’ (http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120). Clause 3.4.1 of the Overseas Touring Agreement relates to baggage allowances and has been amended to take into account the limitations of the low cost airlines which might be used and also the practicalities of whether a tour is for a number of weeks or relatively short. The current Clause is now extended to read: “The Artist will pay the cost of transporting any personal luggage in excess of the airline’s normal economy class allowance or basic baggage allowance. Where this allowance is less than 23kg, the flight is inter-continental and the period for which the Artist will be overseas is in excess of 2 weeks, then the Manager will pay excess baggage costs up to 23kg. The new rates in Clause 6(b) of the Overseas Touring Agreement have been agreed as follows: £20, £48 and £64. The Agreement will be reviewed in April 2014.

B. LONDON THEATRE i. West End Theatre Agreement Our four year Agreement with SOLT came to an end in January 2013. Negotiations continued into 2013 and we got a final offer from them in March 2013. This gave us a 2.2% increase in year one and 2% in year two and importantly, the minimum salary no longer included a non-leading cover responsibility. Other changes that were brought in include: two periods of flexible fortnightly schedules, more work on publicity and promotion, full salary for non-show injury, two single days of holiday allowed and two Sunday shows. We balloted all our members working in the West End and also conducted an on-line ballot of all those who had been working on a West End contract in the last three years. During the course of the balloting process concerns were raised by members that the new Agreement would allow managements to run schedules with two shows on a Sunday. Despite having a majority in favour of settling the Council decided to inform SOLT that we would only settle if the second show on a Sunday were to be by individual consent. Following a further meeting with the SOLT representatives, they revised their position so that they agreed that a second Sunday show should be by consent but the backdating of the new rates would only be to 1 April 2013 rather than 14 January 2013. Our deputies advised that we would need to reballot and this we did. This gave 82% in favour of those on contract and 71.6% in favour of those balloted on-line. We therefore entered into a new two-year Agreement with SOLT to run until March 2015. This results in the following minimum rates from 1 April 2013: Category A ASM/Performer £620.98 DSM £671.98 SM £722.98 Category B ASM/Performer £564.52 DSM £615.52

ANNUAL REPORT 2013 SM Category C ASM/Performer DSM SM

£666.52

£508.07 £559.07 £610.07

Sunday performance payment

£56.45

ii. West End Choreographers’ Agreement 2013 is year four of a four year Agreement commencing 5 April 2010 with RPI increases subject to a ceiling of 3.5%. The new rates are as follows: Category A theatre (1,100 seats +) Category B theatre (800 – 1,100) Category C theatre (up to 799 seats)

The current rates are as follows: MINIMUM FEES Category A Category B Category C 17.1 Choreography and Musical Staging for Musicals 17.1.1 Preparation Fee £4,294 £4,107 £3,735 17.1.2 Rehearsal Period over 5 wks £860 £822 £747 17.1.3 Weekly Royalty £180 £163 £149 17.2 Choreography and/or Musical Staging for Plays 17.2.1 Preparation Fee £2,511 £2,401 £2,184 17.2.2 3½ hour session £146 £139 £127 17.2.3 Weekly Royalty £89 £85 £77 17.3 A small amount of Choreography / Musical Staging £127 per 3½ hour session Assistant Choreographer – Daily Rate £133 iii. West End Directors’ Agreement Under the agreement reached in 2010 the minimum rates on this agreement which apply from 1 August 2013:

Category A Category B Category C

£3910 £3740 £3400

iv. Shakespeare’s Globe This house agreement is negotiated annually and we achieved an increase in the actors’ rehearsal rate of 5.15% and 4% for all other rates. This resulted in the following rates for 2013: Rehearsal rate £ 510 Minimum performance rate £573 Standard performance rate £635 Stage management assistant £573 Stage management Deputy £615 Senior stage management £667 In addition, during the 2013 season the Globe mounted two touring productions engaging performers and stage management on the Commercial Theatre Agreement but for their mid-scale production they paid the main house agreement rates. v. Disney Theatrical Productions Limited This is the third year of a three year Agreement which delivered an increase of 3.2% on all minimum rates. This resulted in the following minimum rates for 2013 (from 19 October 2013):

Rehearsal salary Performance salary ASM

`£656.19 £656.19 plus £59.65 for Sunday performance £656.19 plus £59.65 for Sunday performance

16 DSM SM Dance captain Swing Understudy obligation Understudy performance

ANNUAL REPORT 2013 £750.27 plus £59.65 for Sunday performance £840.28 plus £59.65 for Sunday performance £157.94 £78.95 £31.57 £31.57

C. COMMERCIAL AND SUBSIDISED THEATRE

ANNUAL REPORT 2013 MRSL 3 406.63 b Resident Designer MRSL 1 427.41 MRSL 2 413.37 MRSL 3 374.73 c Assistant Designer

465.90

Freelance Designers

Minimum fees with effect from 2nd November 2013: (increase 5%)

Commercial Theatre Agreement for Performers and Stage Managers

The minimum weekly salaries currently being paid (from 1st April 2013), are as follows: MINIMUM WEEKLY PAYMENTS Normal Minimum Once-Nightly In rehearsal 400.00 Rehearsal Performer/ASM 456.00 Rehearsal DSM 509.50 Rehearsal SM 546.50 Rehearsal C&SM In performance 420.50 Performer/ASM 525.50 DSM 588.50 SM 630.50 C&SM Exceptional Minimum Once-Nightly 323.00 Performer/ASM 404.00 DSM 452.00 SM 458.00 C&SM Subsistence Touring Allowance OTHER PAYMENTS Daily Touring Allowance Understudy obligation payment (per role per week) Understudy performance payment (per performance) Understudy performance payment (ceiling) Swing Dancer (per week) Dance Captain (per week) Flying (per week) Ceiling Salary (per week) Mileage Allowance

TMA/EQUITY/BECTU Designer’s Agreement

Twice-Nightly 400.00 456.00 509.50 545.50 457.00 562.50 625.00 667.50 Twice-Nightly 355.50 440.00 494.00 528.50 112.00 210.00 44.49 15.83 23.71 71.15 19.97 34.58 44.27 627.73 0.48

Negotiations on this agreement concluded in July 2011. As a result, rates were agreed on the following lines for the following three years: Resident Designers (subsidised): 1% each year Freelance Designers (commercial): No increase Freelance Designers (commercial): 2.5% each year Freelance Designers (Opera & Ballet, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company): No increase Resident Designers

Minimum weekly salaries 1nd April 2013: a Head of Design £ MRSL 1 460.68 MRSL 2 447.70

RSC/NT SET & COSTUME Full 6,064.00 Small 3,638.00 Subsidised Theatre SET & COSTUME MRSL 1 3,483.00 Tour Studio/Workshop 1,481.00 MRSL 2/3 2,552.00 Studio/Workshop 1,229.00 Commercial Theatre SET & COSTUME Normal Minimum 3,304.00 Tour/ Season/Musical Straight Play 2,657.00 Exceptional Minimum 1,429.00 Tour/Season/Commer cial Rep. Opera A (ROH, ENO) SET & COSTUME Full 6,666.00 1 Act and Small-scale 3,100.00 tours Opera B (SO, WNO, Opera North, GTO) SET & COSTUME Full 4,849.00 One Act 2,064.00 Small-scale tours 2,272.00 Opera C SET & COSTUME Full 2,281.00 1 Act 1037.00 Ballet A (RB, BRB, ENB) SET & COSTUME Full 6,064.00 One Act 1,939.00 Small-scale tours 2,272.00 Ballet B (Rambert, NB, SB) SET & COSTUME Full 3,113.00 One Act 1,136.00 Small-scale tours 2,272.00 Ballet C SET & COSTUME Full 2,281.00 One Act 455.00

LIGHTING 2,779.00 1,390.00 LIGHTING 1,300.00 1,812.00 623.00 710.00 566.00 LIGHTING 2,088.00 1,165.00 558.00 LIGHTING 3,243.00 1,485.00 LIGHTING 1,852.00 842.00 923.00 LIGHTING 927.00 511.00 LIGHTING 1,852.00 842.00 923.00 LIGHTING 1,619.00 632.00 855.00 LIGHTING 813.00 511.00

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

SOLT / EQUITY Designer Agreement

In line with other Equity Creative Team Agreements, the Agreement runs over a period of three years from 201013 with annual increase of RPI% capped at 3.5%. Effective from 1st April 2012: MINIMUM FEES Sets a b c d Costumes a b c d Lighting a b c d Expenses per day overnight

CAT A

CAT B

CAT C

Major Musicals Musicals Straight Plays/Small Musicals Weekly Fee

6,281.00 4,887.00 3,632.00

6,007.00 4,675.00 3,474.00

5461.00 4,250.00 3,158.00

189.00

181.00

165.00

Major Musicals Musicals Straight Plays/Small Musicals Weekly Fee

4,191.00 3,283.00 2,444.00

4,009.00 3,140.00 2,338.00

3,645.00 2,854.00 2,125.00

146.00

140.00

128.00

Major Musicals Musicals Straight Plays/Small Musicals Weekly Fee

3,147.00 2,444.00 1,815.00

3,010.00 2,338.00 1,736.00

2,736.00 2,125.00 1,578.00

113.00

108.00

99.00

55.82 125.62

53.49 167.50

48.54 109.23

Subsidised Repertory Agreement for Performers and Stage Managers

Following the Agreement of 2010, the following minima apply from 4th October 2010 – 1st April 2012: Performers Minimum Salary MRSL Grade 1 & 2 Theatres MRSL Grade 3 Theatres MRSL Grades MRSL Grade 1 Theatres MRSL Grade 2 Theatres MRSL Grade 3 Theatres Stage Management ASM Grade 1, 2 and 3 Theatres DSM Grade 1 Theatres Grade 2 Theatres Grade 3 Theatres SM Grade 1 Theatres Grade 2 Theatres Grade 3 Theatres CSM - Grade 1 Theatres Grade 2 Theatres Grade 3 Theatres Subsistence & Travel Relocation Allowance Commuting Allowance Touring Allowance Daily Touring Allowance Out of pocket expenses Mileage Allowance Meal Allowance Other Payments Understudy obligation (per week) Additional roles Performance payment – leading Performance payment – other Flying SM in costume SM extra services Head Boy/Girl Hire of Musical Instrument To include 2nd instrument 3rd and successive instruments Sunday Performance Payments One Show Two Shows

£400.00 £379.00 £469.00 £414.00 £385.00 £365.00 £419.00 £383.00 £372.00 £469.00 £414.00 £385.00 £508.00 £448.00 £419.00 £148.00 £129.00 £208.00 £34.34 £11.06 £0.44 £11.03 £17.76 £6.10 £21.64 £13.13 £36.10 £5.45 £91.37 £26.88 £10.60 £21.20 £5.30 £53.00 £106.00

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Theatre Choreographers Agreement

2013 was the final year of a four year agreement with rates increased by 3.1 %.New figures from April 2013 to April 2014as follows: Minimum fees: Commercial Theatre Tours and Seasons £1,275 Lower Minimum/Commercial Repertory £685 Subsidised Repertory MRSL 1 £1254 MRSL 2 £1098 MRSL 3 £1011 Additional weeks: Commercial Theatre Tours and Seasons £436 Exceptional minimum £287 Subsidised Repertory MRSL 1 £502 MRSL 2 £439 MRSL 3 £405 Daily engagements: Tours and Seasons/MRSL 1 and 2 £197 MRSL 3 £150 Exceptional minimum £114 Additional days: Tours and Seasons/MRSL 1 and MRSL 2 £133 MRSL 3 £120 Lower Minimum/Commercial Repertory £85 TMA Theatre Directors’ Agreement This Agreement runs until April 2014 and delivered the following minimum rates for 2013: SUBSIDISED REPERTORY Freelance Directors Fee Grade 1 £2931.79 Grade 2 £2560.65 Grade 3 £2415.05

Artistic Directors Grade 1 Grade 2 + 3

£670.45 £595.53

Resident Directors Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Assistant Directors

£555.90 £511.03 £473.88 £409.00

COMMERCIAL REPERTORY Freelance Fee Exceptional Minimum weekly fee Normal minimum weekly fee

£2225.71 £413.36 £496.03

COMMERCIAL TOURS AND SEASONS Exceptional minimum short run Exceptional minimum long run Normal minimum short run Normal minimum long run Exceptional minimum weekly fee Normal minimum weekly fee

£1683.43 £2525.14 £2244.20 £3740.33 £336.69 £448.84

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

D. ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE Each production elected a Deputy throughout 2013 following visits in the rehearsal periods. A claim for 4% on the minimum rates was submitted for the April increase which was met, with other rates increased by 2% As part of the 50 year celebration, a special televised event for BBC2 was arranged which included excerpts of previous and present National Theatre productions to mark the celebration. Actors and Stage Managers involved in the event received negotiated fees. Actors The rates from April 2012 are as follows: Minimum basic £428.50 Minimum performance fee £25.10 Minimum rehearsal salary £446.40 Maximum rehearsal salary £857 Equity Pension scheme Employer’s contribution

5% of total salary Minimum £16.47 per week Maximum £48.63 per week

Employee’s contribution

2.5% of total salary Minimum £8.25 per week Maximum £24.33 per week

Daily touring rate

£55.12 (Review pending)

Sunday performances are 15% of basic salary plus £40 A pension’s review took place due to the introduction of auto enrolment. The National Theatre have moved to a pension contribution set across all areas of 4.5% and will retain the Equity pension Scheme at this level going forward. Members working on NT contracts have been advised that they will be subject to auto enrolment into the Government NEST Scheme if they are not members of the Equity Pension Scheme. The NT Live Agreement continued with recordings for cinema taking place, with royalties now being paid to actors on some productions. Due to minor changes in the agreement allowing for repeat showings encore showings and an extended window, more of the titles are achieving recoupment and royalties being paid to the performers, and the NT Live project overall is now close to recoupment. Stage Management Neil Mickel left the National Theatre to become Company Manager of the Curious Incident at the Apollo theatre and Shane Thom was elected as Deputy to join Ben Donoghue. Thanks are recorded to Neil for all his help as Deputy. A claim was submitted for a 4% increase on the minimum rates but the group accepted 2% overall. The group agreed to the request for an increased number of Sundays from 12 to 15, but that no Sunday performances would be scheduled on Boxing Day or New Years day. The new salary rates for 44 hour per week staff are as follows: Senior Stage Manager £42,553.56 Stage Manager £41,493.47 Senior Deputy Stage Manager £38,708.74 Deputy Stage Manager £37,714.99 Senior Assistant Stage Manager £35,130.35 Assistant Stage Manager £33,671.88 Staff engaged on a 40 hour week are paid proportional salaries to the above based on the hourly rate, for example ASM, £30,610.80

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

House Agreements

Disney Touring Agreement

The Disney Touring Agreement minimum rates are detailed below. They were set following negotiation in 2011 for two years. In addition to the initial negotiation, we achieved an interim rise to a minimum of £500 per week for members of the cast who accepted new contracts. Other than the financial terms listed below, the House Agreement remains as per that detailed in 2012. Performers Rehearsal Salary Minimum Weekly Weekly Touring Allowance

£490.00 £490.00 £225.00

COVERING RESPONSIBILITIES For each role that you understudy (other than the first three if you have no performance responsibilities) you will receive the weekly sum below. For each performance that you give as an understudy we will also pay you as follows (note there is no performance payment for swinging the Ensemble.) U/S Additional Weekly £18.19 U/S each Performance £27.26 Flying per performance £6.36 Dance Captain £40.90 Swing obligation/Performance £22.75 Ceiling Salary Overtime £721.46 Stage Management SM £700 DSM £600 ASM £500

E. ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY The RSC agreed the following increases with Equity for 2013 on our house agreement: 2.25% increase on all the minimum salaries with the CPI rate of 2.8% on the touring and subsistence rates for 2013. This gave the following rates from April 2012: Performer’s Minimum Salary Stage Management Minimum Salaries Basic Rates Assistant Stage Manager Deputy Stage Manager Stage Manager Company Stage Manager Higher Rates Assistant Stage Manager Deputy Stage Manager Stage Manager Company Stage Manager Assistant Director Minimum Salaries New starter Standard Additional experience Subsistence Allowances Stratford London (first four weeks) London (per week thereafter) Touring Allowance Weekly Rate Daily Rate

£409.00 £457.07 £533.27 £609.44 £670.39 £482.47 £562.90 £643.31 £707.65 £478.19 £524.13 £550.73 £212.80 £353.72 £283.28 £449.75 £64.25

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

F. INDEPENDENT THEATRE ARTS (FORMERLY SMALL SCALE THEATRE)

G. OPERA

i. General

Agreement for Opera Singers This rate was frozen for many years as the TMA (now called UK Theatre) were unwilling to negotiate any increases due to Arts Council cuts. In 2012 it was increased to £360 and after much effort an agreement was made that provided for a further increase. The minimum rate from April 2013 was increased to £371 although this will be fixed for two years until the outcome of the Arts Council reviews are known . There is a commitment from the TMA to actively review all the rates from March 2015.

An ambitious renegotiation and reformatting of the Agreement and the application process was undertaken in 2011-12. This deal was concluded at the beginning of 2013, and consisted of the following main elements: - A three year pay deal, with minima as detailed below. This was in response to calls for more stability in the minimum rates in the sector - The complete re-writing of the Handbook, Agreement and contract to make the constituent elements clearer, briefer and consistent - As part of this re-writing, about 50% of the Handbook (which is recommended) was merged back into the Agreement (which is compulsory) - The contract was merged into the Agreement, to give members a clearer sense of the extent of their terms when using the model contract - We also gave producers the option to use their own contracts, provided that they were approved and met the Equity minimum terms - Contract users were re-branded from ‘Approved Managers’ (AM) to ‘Ethical Managers’ (EM) - The old AM renewal forms were scrapped for re-applying companies, replaced with a simple commitment to abide by the terms of the agreement - Renewal and application was merged with the annual application procedure for the ITC to streamline the process and publicise the system more widely The working party for this agreement was the Independent Theatre Arts Committee (ITAC), detailed later in the report. Minimum Salary From 2nd April 2012-13 £420.00 Relocation Costs London companies £109.00 Out of London companies £89.00 Weekly Touring Allowance £265.00 Accommodation Own paying: £34.50 Accommodation Allowance (not own home): £10.90 Meal Allowances Overnight – breakfast provided: £15.25 Overnight – breakfast not provided: £22.00 Commuting costs threshold: £22.00 ii. Equity/ITC Agreement for Choreographers

The Agreement is running without problems and the rates increased by 2.5% in line with the performers rates. From April 2013 the minimum rates are as follows: Choreographers Minimum Fee (incl. up to 2 weeks’ rehearsal) £1,693.00 £1,735.00 £1,778.00 Weekly Fee £420.00 £430.00 £440.00 Daily Rate £136.50 £140.00 £143.00 Session Rate (max. 3 hours) £88.00 £90.00 £92.00 The minimum 3 hour session rate can only be used in the event that the location of the work required is in the same town as the Choreographer’s home address.

(i)

Guest Artists

(ii)

Opera and Ballet Stage Management

Minimum rates under this Agreement have been increased by 3% but fixed until March 2015 as follows: Rehearsal Salary £315 per week Session Fee £71 three hour session Performance Fee £255 Cover Fee £ 89 Cut off 2014 £1030.00 Subsistence £86.60 In line with the above, rates were increased by 3% but fixed until April 2015 ASM DSM SM CSM Subsistence In costume Dress allowance

£330 £352 £384 £423 £ 86.60 £15.92 £10.61

Agreement for Opera Directors 2006 An Agreement was made to update the rates by 3% fixed until April 2015 Royal Opera House/English National Opera Main House £9,590.06 Studio £5,434.58 Glyndebourne, Scottish, Welsh National Opera, Opera North - Main House £6,777.76 Studio £3, 885.91 All other companies (iii)

£6,777.76

Opera Singers Pension Scheme There is nothing to add since the Annual Report of 2010 which stated that the money purchase scheme funds have transferred to Norwich Union with First Act administering the new Opera Singers Pension Scheme. The Royal Opera House and Opera North agreed to fund additionally the life cover element which will make the money purchase scheme more beneficial than the old scheme, and although the other Houses will not do this, the other members agreed to fund the contribution from their own contribution. Equity continues to pay this in advance and recoup the money from the various Houses, so that the new Opera Singers Pension Scheme is now fully operative. Legal and General are now administering the Final Salary section of the scheme, although there are still data transfer issues that need to be resolved before the Scheme can be wound up. The Trustees are awaiting one final meeting to sign all the papers and are frustrated that this has not yet occurred and Mercers have been contacted several times during the year to ask when this will take place. They had stated that this should be possible within 2012 but at the end of the year, the matter was still with their wind-up team and a meeting date not set. During 2013 further efforts were made to unblock the wind up and the data issue was identified. Efforts have been made to trace all of the missing information on spouses, including advertising in the Equity Journal, and once this is received the Scheme can proceed to final wind up. Trustee insurance cover ceased, although an arrangement has been agreed in 2010 with the Royal Opera House, English National Opera and Equity to provide continued support to the Trustees if necessary.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Opera and Ballet Touring Allowances

The rates have increased currently in line with RPI and the rates from 23rd December 2013 are as follows: Weekly rate £321.43 Single performance rate £53.75 Enhanced rates (plus 25%) for Aberdeen, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Sunderland: Weekly rate £401.76 Single performance rate £ 67.25 And by 33% for London Weekly rate: Single performance rate (iv)

£428.52 £ 71.71

English National Opera

a) Chorus In August 2013 the Chorus submitted a 3% pay rise which ENO were unable to meet due to financial difficulties. In the circumstances a 1% pay rise was agreed. The main project affecting the Chorus was their agreement to an extended media arrangement which allowed for a cinema project to commence in 2014. The agreement is for the recording of up to six live productions for cinema release, with the allocation of points together with a share of 50% of the net profit equally with the orchestra and other staff. The Chorus Deputies for 2013 were David Dyer, David Campbell and Paul Napier Burrows joined by Rebecca Stockland who replaced Paul Napier Burrows who stepped down. David Dyer resigned and is now employed as a cover Chorus Manager. Thanks are recorded to them for their work on behalf of the Chorus, as well as the Committee. The annual salary was increased to £34,728.81 with a pension contribution of £5382.85. Extra Chorus The rate increased by 1% to £95.74 plus holiday pay. Stage Management Alex Hayesmore continued as the Deputy for the Stage Management team. Rates increased by 1% as follows: Stage Manager: £43,410.52 Deputy Stage Manager £39,816.34 Assistant Stage Manager £31,710.10 Actors/Dancers Minimum rates of pay, in line with all other groups of Equity members were increased by 1% from 1st August 2013. After considerable negotiations it was agreed that ENO would introduce a performance supplement for Dancers who are choreographed throughout the opera with a minimum set at £30 per performance. A new Agreement has been drawn up incorporating this change. Although this new Agreement did not apply to the dancers in the revival of Madam Butterfly, the dancers asked that it be implemented for them which was agreed. Actors £332.07 Dancers £343.01 Holiday pay is paid additionally as a separate item. If a recording takes place for broadcast in line with the media deal for the Chorus and Stage management a further payment is made equal to 1.25 times the basic salary. Given the fact that Class 1 NI will not be deducted from April 2014, Equity has claimed a large increase on the minimum salaries effective from April 2014. (i) Glyndebourne a) Chorus Long negotiations took place to introduce a new Agreement for all the Choristers with the exception of the Seasonal Permanent Choristers and a new Agreement for touring that would apply to all. Glyndebourne sought to introduce new

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

arrangements for touring which would require members to commute so long as travel time was less than 1 hour 30 minutes and members could arrive at the home railway station before 12.30. Given the negotiations were so protracted and could not arrive at a final agreement, they were finally abandoned by Glyndebourne. In exchange for withdrawing their aims for commutable venues it was agreed that the Woking venue was commutable and that London based choristers would not receive the touring allowance for this venue only. The 2013 salary was set at £435 plus the usual travel payments capped at the London/Lewes weekly rail card. Due to the loss of Class 1NI, Glyndebourne have agreed that they will maintain equivalent benefits to those due by virtue of Class 1, eg maternity and paternity benefits. Special thanks are recorded to the Deputies Jonas Craddock, Andrew Davies, Michael Wallace and Sarah Osborne who were the elected Deputies and took part in all the negotiations. The 2014 salary is set at £450. Extra Chorus The session rate remained in line with the Chorus at £88.60. b) Stage Management Stage Management accepted a 2.5% offer and remained on a 40 hour week contract. Rates for 2013 as follows: Deputy Stage Manager £419.39 Assistant Stage Manager £455.75 Stage Management Dress £14.78 Appearance in costume rate was agreed for £24.88 per performance and £37.33 for Directed Appearances. Stage Managers entering a fifth year of employment are now Seasonal Permanent employees. Thanks are recorded to Benjamin Lynch for acting as Deputy on behalf of the Group. Actors and Dancers Rates were increased by 2.5% Actor rate - £332.10 The Dancers rate was increased to £435 Opera North After Chorus pay was frozen in 2011 and a 3% increase (which had been due then as part of the 2007 agreement) was put into effect from April 1 2012, choristers benefited from a 1% increase from 1 January 2013 followed by an additional 2% on all financial clauses on 1 April 2013. Due to current economic factors Opera North have offered no pay increase for 2014-5. Stage management salaries were also frozen in 2011 but a 3% increase backdated to August 2012 was agreed in January 2013 with a further 2% increase added in April 2013. As for choristers and other ON employees, no increase has been offered for 2014-5 Hazel Croft stepped down as Equity Chorus Deputy after many years’ excellent service and was replaced by Sarah Estill who joined long-serving Stephen Briggs. Lindsey Owen continued as deputy for stage management. Membership levels remain at or very close to 100% among the permanent chorus. Rates – chorus Salary

Vocal Maintenance

1 January 2013 Level 1 £23,306 Level 2 £25,449 Level 3 £27,859

£924.83 “ “

1 April 2013 add 2% Level 1 £23,772 Level 2 £25,958 Level 3 £28,416

£943.33 “ “

Opera North Stage Management

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

New rates of pay April 2013 to March 2014 Position

Weekly Rate

Per Annum

Stage Manager

£572.64

£29,777

Senior Deputy Stage Manager

£525.68

£27,335

Deputy Stage Manager

£499.03

£25,950

Assistant Stage Manager

£472.21

£24,555

Temporary Stage Manager

£543.08

£28,240

Temporary Deputy Stage Manager

£492.23

£25,596

Temporary Assistant Stage Manager

£427.02

£22,205

Royal Opera House a) General As part of the cuts to the Arts Council Grant there was a 2.3% increase for 13/14 season given with a further 2.5% increase for 14/15. A new Chief Executive Alex Beard was appointed to replace Tony Hall who is now Director General at the BBC. As part of the pension review and in response to the requirements of auto –enrolment, the ROH will not accept new entrants to the existing pension schemes in the House and a new overall scheme: the ROH Friends Life Pension Scheme has been created. Chorus The Chorus size remains at 48 and is working well with the additional permanent posts. Management offered 1% on pay and negotiations on pay for 2013 were finally concluded with the Chorus accepting a 2% offer from 1st September 2013. Although an agreement had been made that there would be no rehearsals scheduled on public holidays for the season the Chorus were unable to get this written into the Agreement going forward even though they indicated that they would have accepted a slightly lower percentage figure of 1.5%. An issue for the Chorus during 2013 was the proposal for a mixture of community groups to be part of the Carmelites. The Chorus were keen to ensure that there was no blurring between the professional groups and the community groups of extras and that all health and safety issues had been given full consideration. Thanks are recorded to John Mulroy for continuing as Equity Deputy and to the Chorus Committee. The annual salary for the Chorus from September 2013 is £39,290.40 plus £3,775.80 media supplement. Extra Chorus Changes to the Extra Chorus Agreement had been made in 2012/13 subject to a review in 2013. Extra Choristers were consulted by way of a survey form asking them for feedback on how these changes had impacted on them, particularly in relation to variation of the session call time by 15 minutes, and the changes to costume fittings that had been agreed for the previous season. The survey form also indicated Equity’s intention to prevent excessive cancellation of calls set out in the Extra Chorus contract and that the four week cancellation clause should be limited so that no more than 25% of the total value of any contract could be cancelled. The survey results were positive and there was support for this proposed change. In the event Equity claimed that the cancellations should be limited to 20% of the total value and this was agreed with management, together with the full implementation of the Clauses concerning the 15 minute variation without penalty and the agreement that where a costume fitting is attached to a call for a different engagement the performer shall be paid an additional 1/6th of the basic rehearsal session fee if contained within the time of the call. Extra Choristers became eligible for auto enrolment into the NEST pension Scheme. Rates were increased in September 2013 by the percentage uplift agreed for the Chorus of 2% inclusive of holiday and media uplift. Rehearsal Session Opera Performance Session

£117.71 £141.24

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

1st Night Performance

£164.77

Concert rates are as follows: Concert day payment Rehearsal rate

£157.57 £78.79

Thanks are recorded to Bryn Evans as Chair of the Extra Chorus Deputies and Simon Preece. b) Stage Management In line with the Chorus and Ballet the Stage Managers agreed to a 2% pay increase from September 2013. Rates are as follows: Senior Stage Manager Stage Manager Deputy Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager

£51,270.81 £46,951.28 £40,522.11 £34,211.55

Thanks are recorded to the Deputies Lynne Otto and Adam Lawley for all their work on behalf of the Stage Management. Lynne Otto retired from her work as Stage Manager to the Ballet Company during 2013 and has yet to be replaced as an Equity Deputy. c) Actors and Dancers The 2% increase for all other Equity groups was accepted for the Actors and Dancers. Rates from September 2013 as follows: £358.73 Minimum dance fee £25.72 TV fee per recording £480.02 The increase also applied to the Actors in the Royal Ballet Actors in Ballet: Rehearsal £62.38 Performance £63.38 per three hour session Separate Agreements apply for the recording for television or DVD purposes. Welsh National Opera

a) Chorus The Chorus size remains at 40. By comparison to previous years, all positions are entirely filled with people on full time contracts. Whilst negotiations for 2011/12 and 2012/13 were concluded in September 2012, the physical contract was not ratified till June 2013 due to a number of issues regarding final wordings and agreements. This resulted in a delay in preparing a claim for the contract year 2013/14 which was not presented until December 2013. WNO continued to pay £250 for a basic media deal, excluding television, at September 2013. The company entered into a consultation with Equity on the Pension provision for new joiners once the company started the auto-enrolment scheme. They were seeking to reduce their contributions and this was resisted by Equity. At December 2013 no response had been received from WNO. The rates from September 2011 to August 2013 were:Grade 1 – up to 2 years with WNO: £25,270.36 Grade 2 – 2 – 4 years with WNO: £25,879.76 Grade 3 – 4 – 8 years with WNO: £26,184.18 Grade 4 – 8 – 10 years with WNO: £26,488.04 Grade 5 – 10-15 years with WNO: £26,793.02 Grade 6 – over 15 years with WNO: £27,097.44 b)

Extra Chorus

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

There continued to be no progress made on an Extra Chorus deal and the rates remained unchanged. There were a large number of extra choristers employed for the new production of Lohengrin and significant problems occurred with regards to the Company Media Agreement which does not apply to the Extra Chorus. Discussions took place with regards to a variation in how the Extra Chorus were to be contracted for shows in 2014, and efforts are now needed to formalise a new agreement as soon as possible.

offered a Scheme that was available to all employees of the ROH at an inferior contribution rate. However no other contributing companies have followed suit and therefore the Scheme remains open rather than a closed Scheme. A new Scheme booklet has been prepared for the dancers. There are 946 members of the Scheme with 233 contributing members. The Scheme has net assets at 5th April of £35,745,264. A Bonus of 10% was declared in April.

c) Stage Management Having put in a claim for the 2012/13 contract year in September, there was eventually an offer made of 1% with no contractual changes. An agreement was finally reached in July 2013 for 2% for salaries under £25,000 and 1% for salaries over £25,000.

ii. Dancer’s Career Development Dancer’s Career Development consists of the Dance Companies Resettlement Fund and the Dancer’s Trust. The Dance Companies provide the Fund with its resources through their Arts Council Grant by each contributing an annual sum equivalent to 2.5% per cent of their annual dancer’s salary bill. The Dancers Trust is intended to help dancers who do not qualify for money under the Dance Companies Resettlement Fund and support many dancers who have been employed in the commercial and independent sectors. . On an international level the DCD is a founder member of the International Organisation for the Transition of Professional Dancers.

The team continues to be running at only 3 full time members of staff (1 Stage Manager and 2 DSM’s), with the remaining positions being filled by short term contracts on a season by season basis. This is unlikely to improve in the near future, with WNO opening discussions in late 2013 to look at reducing staffing levels during rehearsals. Stage Management rates from September 2012 were:DSM 6 £27,508.71 DSM 5 £26,968.39 DSM 4 £26,293.84 DSM 3 £25,619.29 DSM 2 £25,192.78 DSM 1 £24,511.55 ASM 5 £23,762.41 ASM 4 £23,168.19 ASM 3 £22,573.97 ASM 2 £21,979.75 ASM 1 £21,386.59

H SINGERS Classical Public Concert Rates to June 2014.

For choruses of:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

37 + 25 to 36 17 to 24 11 to 16 small groups

£125.00 £130.00 £134.50 £144.50 £179.00

Overtime (per 15 minutes or part thereof) £18.00 Extra rehearsals (per 3 hour session or pert thereof) £70.00

I BALLET AND DANCE

A) General Eventually after years of refusal of the TMA to renegotiate the minimum rate of pay due to cuts in Arts Council funding the Managers agreed to Equity’s claim and implemented a 5% increase to bring the minimum rates up to £360. The Managers proposed that this rate remain frozen for a three year period but finally agreed to increase this rate by a further 1% for the next three years.

i. Dancer’s Pension Scheme The Equity Trustees for 2013 were Bennet Gartside from the Royal Ballet, Daniel Jones from English National Ballet and Jonathan Goddard. Hilary Hadley Head of the Live Performance Department continued to attend as an Observer. Sarah Bailey from the Arts Council was appointed as a Director of the Scheme. Christopher Nourse remained Chair of the Scheme. The Scheme Administers are Xafinity. It was agreed that the Dancers Pension Scheme was suitable for auto enrolment and could be offered as a compliant scheme by the various companies contributing in to the Scheme. The Royal Ballet advised that they would no longer offer the Scheme to new dancers joining the company who were to be

As DCD had been entirely restructured to cope with the halving of funding from the participating companies, The Head of the Live Performance Department remained on the Board with Paul Mead from the Equity Council being on the new Grants Committee The new Board structure separated governance and policy from the consideration of and award of grants. The Staff structure was also reorganised following the departure of the Grants Officer with a new role of Director of Development supported by a new Grants and Career Officer. DCD managed to achieve a reduction by 50% of its salary and office overhead costs. However given the financial restrictions grants to the Company dancers were reduced to a maximum of £15,000. If the reduction of contribution continues it is predicted that the amount of grant award would need to be reduced further but could be maintained at 3.4%. The Chairman wrote to all of the companies setting out all the achievements that DCD had made during 2013 to maximise the benefit to dancers at a minimal cost. Towards the end of the year it was announced that the Royal Ballet Benevolent Fund would be working with DCD to help with maintenance awards for the dancers in training.

iii. English National Ballet a) Dancers A new management structure was put into place through 2013 with Caroline Thompson taking over as Chief Executive and Claire Hawkes as Director of Personnel. Tamara Rojo continued both as a dancer of the Company and as Artistic Director. The Dancers Committee met with management on three occasions during 2013. In addition to pay and holiday provision the dancers discussed: Balance of rehabilitation following injury with use in company/walk on roles, start of season following summer holiday – demands on dancers, Saturdays being cleared of work on four occasions, length of class and placement and notice of casting.` The Dancers accepted a 1% pay increase from April 2013 again with the assurance of four Saturdays off during the season. The Committee also discussed the financial situation of ENB and future plans. Deputies were elected for the new Season: Amber Hunt and James Forbat, and thank are recorded to both the Deputies and the Committee for all their work on the dancers’ behalf. Salaries were increased as follows from April 2013: Principal First Soloist Soloist Junior Soloist First Artist Artist Yr 8 Artist Yr 7 Artist Yr 6 Artist Yr 5 Artist Yr 4 Artist Yr 3 Artist Yr 2 Artist Yr 1

£45,380.24 (variable by negotiation) £39,277.61 £35,175.80 £31,862.87 £31,321.35 £29,544.08 £29,251.01 £28,980.54 £28,753.65 £27,490.54 £26,272.08 £25,361.91 £23,795.87

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

b) Stage Management Salaries increased by 1% from April: Stage Manager £36,420.60 One of the Stage Managers left the Company and has not been replaced, with the Deputy Stage Manager taking over as Stage Manager and employing freelance stage management as necessary. The Stage Manager Kerry Lewis is also the Equity Deputy

as deputy with effect from 1 October 2013, and Darren Goldsmith who took over on that date.

Birmingham Royal Ballet 2013 The company elected 10 new deputies in December 2012 but one later withdrew due to work commitments, but this meant there was representation across the grades from Principal to Corps. Recruitment has been good this year with 14 new members agreeing to direct check-off subscription bringing that total to 40 on this scheme there are six other members paying yearly so the number of non-members is shrinking. Discussions had been ongoing from autumn 2012 with BRB seeking to extend Sunday performances and incorporate that into salary calculated at 12 hours double time. Due to performance pressure, and a lack of clarity on the effect of the offer the status quo prevailed for the 2012 Christmas season.

1st year corps 2nd year corps 3rd year corps 4th year corps 5th year corps Coryphee Soloist First Soloist Leading Soloist Premier Artist (from)

Further talks commenced in February 2013 as the company were faced with a £200k shortfall and a voluntary redundancy programme was introduced. However it was agreed that the dance company would be retained at 60 dancers although any senior grades who volunteered, and it was agreed could go, may be replaced with Corps recruitment to keep the number of dancers at 60.Three senior dancers volunteered under the enhanced redundancy programme and the other 8 posts came from the technical/ administrative side. Further talks on more Sunday performances (currently 8 at double time) were proposed as BRB thought further Sunday shows around Christmas could generate more income, and research was conducted at other U.K. ballet companies and with the M.U. Once the specific proposals were presented it was clear to the dancers that this would create an intense work pattern with two shows on a Sunday even with extra days off in the week in exchange for double time that created a health & safety risk and was financially detrimental so rejected. Further discussions took place during 2013 of further cost saving measures including termination of long service payments and Sunday working time. Equity staff & Deputies consulted with the M.U. and BECTU colleagues in the Company and it was clear that all the unions were opposed to the proposals for their own reasons. Equity proposed a number of options on long service payments and Sunday performances all of which were unacceptable to BRB as were the BRB proposals to the dancers. By the end of the year despite constructive meetings and suggestions by both sides no agreement had been reached and the whole dances company rejected the Long service proposals as they stood. However further constructive proposals have been tabled by the dancers on Sunday performances and these await a response by BRB. Pay has been frozen across the company for two years due to the grant cuts and it is still hoped that a pay increase may be achievable by April 2014. 1st & 2nd year corps - £21,927.28 3rd year corps - £23,735.98 4th year corps - £25,289.81 5th year corps -£27,097.42 First Artist -£29,693.48 Soloist -£35,370.93 First Soloist -£42,608.33 Principal - £46,484.90

Northern Ballet Theatre Despite savage funding cuts for 2012-15 from ACE and local authorities, the company was able to restore dancers numbers to 40 (from 37) assisted by new commercial sponsorship in 2012. And 2013saw a 2% increase on minimum pay after a similar increase in 2012 for dancers and Stage Management. There were larger increases for many dancers arising from progression through the company structure. A further 2% has been agreed for April 2014. Once again 2013 saw a number of changes amongst the dancers with departures and newcomers, all of whom joined the union. This is in no small part due to the work of deputies Hannah Bateman who stepped down after a second spell

Northern Ballet has continued a heavy touring schedule throughout the year, and toured once again to China in January 2014. Rates (2013-14) £367 £405 £429 £458 £483 £510 £551 £587 £602 £643

Rates (2013-14) - stage management ASM DSM Senior DSM CSM

£20550 + £30 per day in production weeks £25194 “ £26010 “ £33340 “

Scottish Ballet

Pay rates Principal: £36,443 Soloist: £31,994 Coryphee: £28,096 Artist: £26,845 Stage Manager: £27,270 Deputy Stage Manager: £22,882 Assistant Stage Manager: £17,170

Rambert Dance Company New Deputies were elected for 2013, Hannah Rudd and Dane Hurst. Negotiations were eventually concluded for a 2% from April 2013 , although this settlement had been rejected and the Dancers were unhappy with the outcome. The 2% increase was applied to all financial items including late night travel, Sadlers Wells’s performances meal allowance and the underwear allowances. It was agreed that more free time would be found to allow for long weekends with maximum notice. During 2013, there were a number of problems with the maintenance of the old Chiswick studios, with the showers breaking down and emergency arrangements made. However in the Autumn the company finally moved into the new dedicated building on the South Bank which is a wonderful building for the dancers with lots of new facilities. Thanks are recorded to both incoming and outgoing Deputies for their work on behalf of the dancers. Salary rates increased by 2% as follows: Apprentice Year One £19,209.75 Apprentice Year Two £20,070.36 Dancer £26,846.99 Dancer after 4 years £30,289.43 Royal Ballet Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano were elected as Equity Deputies for the company for the 2013/14 season. The dancers submitted a pay claim for 3% but accepted a rise from 1st September 2012 of 2%.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

The Royal Opera House gave notice that they would not include new dancers joining the Company into the Dancers pension Scheme but that they would be enrolled into the new ROH Scheme with inferior contributions. The demands of the new schedule, incorporating, new works from the Associate Choreographers started to cause problems in terms of workload and breaks. Thanks are extended to the Deputies and the Committee members who helped with negotiations throughout the years. Current rates from September 2013 are as follows: Character Principal First Soloist Soloist First Artist 8th Year Artist 7th Year Artist 6th Year Artist 5th Year Artist 4th Year Artist 3rd Year Artist 2nd Year Artist 1st Year Artist

£50,391.00 £50,391.00 £41,992.32 £35,531.40 (plus seniority upgrades to £36,888.12) £33,270.24 £32,947.56 £32,635.32 £32,324.40 £31,075.44 £29,827.68 £28,578.60 £26,706.36

New Adventures/Equity Agreement for Performers and Stage Managers A new three year Agreement was made during 2013 for an agreement commencing October 2014 with a separate agreement for a differently funded project Lord of the Flies commencing in January 2014. On the main agreement, negotiators tried to resolve the problem of subsistence payments which had sometimes been in equitable in practice but this has not yet resolved although the main terms for the new Agreement have been agreed. Salary rates are as follows: Rehearsal salary Performance salary for first contract Performance salary for dancers previously Employed but new to production For those returning to Production Performance fee (principal) Performance fee (sub) UK touring allowance

£425.50 £489.00 £529.00 £565.00 £43.20 £32.46 £224.20

Swan Lake/Broadway Entertainment The rights to produce Mathew Bourne’s Swan Lake have been transferred to Broadway entertainment necessitating a different contractual arrangement for 2013. The old agreement was adopted in its entirely with an increase on the minimum rates. The Agreement is for two years starting September 1st 2013, with a 2% increase for year two. The rates are as follows Rehearsal salary Minimum performance Salary Minimum returnees Minimum returnees 2

£400 £450 £475 £500

Euro/Fia Dance Passport The Euro/Fia passport was re-launched in 2013 with further publicity and an article in the Journal detailing a success story with a dancer who used the passport in Spain. An e-mail was sent to all dancers on the Register and the scheme discussed at cast visits. The re-launch was successful with 40 passports issued.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

J. VARIETY AND CIRCUS

i. General The summer of 2013 saw further deregulation in entertainment licensing removing the requirement for performances of plays and dance to audiences of up to 500 and for indoor sports for up to 1000 to be licensed. This followed changes in 2012 allowing performances to an audience of up to 200 for amplified music (or unlimited if acoustic only) after the Live Music Act was passed. Further changes are still in the pipeline and were being consulted on at the end of 2013 which would increase the audience size for live amplified music to 500 and remove circus from licensing altogether. Equity put in a submission supporting these changes and remains optimistic of their introduction in 2014. Although existing changes have exempted most of the smaller circuses from licensing anyway, it will be helpful to have the position formalised and will benefit all circuses. The overall picture of the variety, circus and entertainment sector is that there were positives and negatives in 2013. On the positive side, new venues have opened and existing venues have started to offer entertainment in addition to their core business such as bars and restaurants putting on comedy and cabaret. On the negative side the trend of pubs being sold to supermarket chains and the closure of clubs in traditional working neighbourhoods has continued. To offset this Equity along with other organisations lobbied for the scrapping of the Beer Duty Escalator which the government did eventually agree to. There was disappointment, however, that the government did not agree to the setting of a minimum price for alcohol which may have assisted the pub and club industry. General ‘austerity’ policies have undoubtedly affected individuals’ budgets in booking entertainers privately and there has inevitably been cutbacks in publicly funded events in many areas as councils have had to save money. The work opportunities within entertainment in the UK holiday camp and visitor attraction and cruise sectors appear to have remained healthy. Equity made changes to its democratic structure in 2013 which resulted in the Variety Advisory Committee being replaced by the Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee which was elected in the summer. The new VCEC is smaller, has greater powers and it is hoped will better reflect the modern industry and be able to engage with more working members. More details of the work of this committee are shown below. Members of Equity involved in entertaining the armed services took part in the Remembrance Sunday Parade in November as in previous years. ii. Membership Equity membership grew further in 2013 as it had done in recent years and reached a new record high for the end of year. The total number of ‘in benefit’ members registered on Variety Branches, however, showed a more modest increase. New membership in the variety sector as a whole slightly exceeded the high total achieved in 2012. Within this there was large increase in applicants in circus but a decrease in the traditional variety area of singers.

Public liability insurance is one of the key benefits of Equity membership for those working within the variety, circus and entertainment field. For freelance work in public or local authority premises and open spaces, within circuses, in theatres and even in hotels, pubs and clubs such insurance is often a contractual requirement. Even where it is not, it is advisable to have such cover in case of the unexpected. The Accident and Backstage cover is also important and this was enhanced this year when Equity changed insurance providers. Members also appreciate the importance of legal cover should they encounter problems in the course of their work or need a potential contract looked over. Personal injury cover and the various advice services are also valued benefits. Many members also take advantage of the network of Variety Branches throughout the UK where they can meet their fellow professionals and obtain support and advice. Equity Industrial, Regional and National Organisers and Recruitment Organisers with variety responsibilities visit key workplaces in the variety and circus field such as variety productions in theatres, comedy clubs, circuses, theme parks and visitor attractions, working men’s clubs and auditions for cruise and overseas work. Predominantly, however, members within this field work individually or in small groups performing ‘acts as known’ on a one-off basis in a wide range of venues so don’t have a fixed regular workplace. In order to meet members and potential members it is necessary to target recruitment resources at events where such professional performers will be present in significant numbers. In 2013 Equity had a presence at the following: the Blackpool Magicians’ Club Convention and the International Brotherhood of Magicians in Buxton, the Leicester Comedy Festival and Chortle Seminar for comedy, the Clowns International Festival in Bognor Regis, the Face Painting

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Association event in Cambridge, the May Fayre in Covent Garden for Punch and Judy, the Winchester Hatfair and Gi20 event in Shoreditch for street arts, the Brighton, Glastonbury and Edinburgh Festivals, Keeping it Live! in Blackpool and Coventry for cabaret acts, the UK Professional Pole Dance Championships in Telford, the Move It! dance event in London. A specific recruitment campaign was also targeted at the club scene in Humberside in conjunction with the Variety Branch. Also visited were full time education courses and showcases in the variety and circus sector. The work of the Equity staff was frequently supported by officers and committee members of the Variety Branches who also undertook their own recruitment and retention activities and their contribution, which is on a voluntary basis, is greatly valued. iii. Branches In most areas of the UK there is a Variety Branch with which members working in the variety and circus field are encouraged to get involved. Branches hold at least four general meetings per year although some meet more frequently often with an established monthly pattern (eg second Monday of the month) with breaks in the summer and Christmas periods. Branches also hold an Annual General Meeting and elect new officers and a committee although such elections may be biennial if the branch decides. Branches have many means by which they can communicate with branch members. Electronic methods are becoming more prevalent due to cost and convenience, particularly after the introduction of the Communications Manager which allows branch committee members to construct a newsletter online and have it sent out centrally to all members on the branch register by email. Each branch also has a website as part of the main Equity site and any event that they add to their events calendar will also appear on the main Equity events calendar. Branches also have a dedicated space to advertise their meetings in the Equity Magazine and each edition will also feature a Variety Branch in more detail. Branches also send out paper newsletters to those who don’t use email. Branches receive some funding centrally from head office according to the numbers registered with them. This funding is specifically for campaigning, organising and educational purposes for the benefit of branch members. Branches have used this funding to run workshops, produce banners and attend events and can apply for ‘match funding’ if they require more than their allotted funding for a specific purpose. Branches devise their own programmes which normally comprise include industry guest speakers, socials, training and showcasing opportunities and will also discuss relevant work and industry issues. Branches are a central part of the democratic structure of the union and each are entitled to put a motion and amendment to the Annual Representative Conference and to send representatives. Some Branch Secretaries are able to provide contractual advice and assistance to members when Equity staff may be unavailable and may also receive job information from local employers which they can advertise to members. Variety Branch Secretaries met as a group with staff on the morning of Variety Advisory Committee meetings in the customary way in the first half of 2013. They also met with the new Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee for one meeting after the new democratic structure was introduced in the middle of the year. iv. Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee This new Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee (VCEC) was formed in the summer, along with the other industrial committees, and 12 members were elected for a two year term. The VCEC also comprises the 6 Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus Councillors and one former member of the Variety Artistes’ Federation (VAF) Executive as observers. Sally Treble was elected Chair of the new committee and Geremy Phillips the Vice Chair.

The new committee replaced the Variety Advisory Committee which was in place for the first half of 2013 and also comprised the Variety Branch Secretaries and Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus Councillors and VAF Executive members with full voting rights. The Variety Advisory Committee met three times in the first half of 2013 and sent a motion and two representatives to the Annual Representative Conference in London. The VAC’s motion on Structure asking Council to reconsider its decision and ‘leave the VAC in its pre-January 2013 form’ was lost as were many similar motions on the subject of the union’s democratic structure. The VAC was sad to lose Karin Karina who was the other long-standing VAF Executive member of the committee early in 2013. The new Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee met twice in the second half of 2013 including once with the Variety Branch Secretaries present. The committee laid down its priorities for its two year term and took on the outstanding work of the previous VAC. Its programme includes reviewing all of the existing contracts and agreements to ensure they are fit for purpose in the modern world; to support campaigns to maintain viable workplaces and to establish networks to communicate with groups of performers such as children’s entertainers, singers and circus performers. The new Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee met twice in the second half

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

of 2013 including once with the Variety Branch Secretaries present. The committee laid down its priorities for its two year term and took on the outstanding work of the previous VAC. Its programme includes reviewing all of the existing contracts and agreements to ensure they are fit for purpose in the modern world; to support campaigns to maintain viable workplaces and to establish networks to communicate with groups of performers such as children’s entertainers, singers and circus performers. Members of the Committee: Elected Members from July 2013 for two years:Chris Barltrop, Beano the Clown, Nicholas Brand, John Brennan, Lorraine Brooker-Mays, Chris Cotton, Tony Dennes, Yvonne Joseph, Peachy Mead, Geremy Phillips (Vice Chair), Sally Treble (Chair) Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus Councillors (July 2012 - 2014): Annie Bright, Dave Eager, Mary Lane, Brenda Marsh, Tina May, Rhubarb the Clown Elected by the Executive Committee of the VAF Tommy Wallis v. Variety and Light Entertainment Council This body comprises Equity, the Musicians’ Union, the Agents’ Association and representatives of management bodies. The other member organisations are as follows: Association of Circus Proprietors, Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure, Licensees Unite, Society of London Theatre and the Theatrical Management Association (TMA). Other venues and managements, not members of one of these organisations can become registered members entitling them to use the contracts and disputes procedures.

The Joint Secretaries of the VLEC are Kenneth Earle of the Agents’ Association and Christine Payne of Equity. They are responsible for the general administration of the Council and the day-to-day running of the organisation. Meetings rotate between the offices of Equity, the Musicians’ Union, the Agents’ Association and the TMA with the chairmanship alternating between the Joint Secretaries. Equity is represented at meetings by its elected Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus councillors. Four meetings of the Council were held during 2013. The principal function of the VLEC is to ensure good practice in the variety and light entertainment industry, to ensure the appropriate contract is used for every engagement and to assist in the resolution of disputes either formally or informally. There were no formal dispute hearings in 2013. During 2013 the VLEC looked at its ‘Act as Known’ and Circus contracts and work on these is ongoing. It also discussed Agency Regulations as further changes are in the pipeline and were consulted on; entertainment licensing as regulations were relaxed; National Insurance and self-employed status of performers and the introduction of Universal Credit; medical expenses for non EU nationals working in UK circus; wireless microphones; The VLEC as a joint industry body also has a role on Equity’s registration panel for the stage hypnotist public liability insurance scheme. Following the launch of the VLEC website www.vlec.org.uk in 2012 the VLEC also set up a Twitter account in 2013 to increase its social networking profile. vi. VLEC Contracts There were no changes made to the terms and conditions of the VLEC contracts this year although discussions were ongoing on the Circus and ‘Act as Known’ contracts. The rates on the Floorshow and Choreographers were revised as detailed below.

(a) VLEC Act As Known Contract This contract is still considered to be the benchmark for booking acts particularly for one-off performances or short runs. The contracts are available in both printed duplicate form and in electronic format. The VLEC continued to explore suitable wording to the signature area of the contract in relation to the requirement to sign and return within 14 days and this work is still ongoing. (b) VLEC Floorshow Contract This year, an increase to the rates of 3% which was marginally above the rate of inflation (RPI) published in October 2013 was agreed on all financial items except the subsistence and touring allowance, which increased in line with Theatrical Management Association theatre contracts. These rates are in place from 1st November 2013 to 31st October 2014. The new rates, including this latest increase, are as follows:-

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Once Nightly (up to 8 performances a week) Twice Nightly (up to 12 performances a week) Subsistence (first 10 weeks) Touring Allowance

£407.00 per week £438.00 per week £112.00 per week £210.00 per week

Understudy Payment (per week) Understudy Payment Lead Role (per performance) Understudy Payment Other Role (per performance) Understudy Payment Ceiling

£37.70 £46.40 £27.40 £88.20

Photocalls Public Holiday Performances Illness Payment Ceiling

£28.00 £68.60 £68.60

(c) Standard Overseas Contract A contract for overseas entertainment work, predominantly dance is available to Agents’ Association and VLEC registered members to use. EuroFIA also promulgates the clauses of this contract as model clauses for other European unions and employers to use in their contracts for dance. These clauses are also available on Equity’s website as guidance for members working overseas. Equity continues to operate an advisory service for dancers who work abroad and urges members to check their contract with Equity before agreeing to work overseas. Equity maintains a database of overseas managements and agents, where matters have been brought to Equity’s attention so that the union is then able to advise members. Contact details of overseas performing unions is also made available to performers working on overseas contracts so that they are able to get assistance overseas in an emergency and know what other facilities may be available to them. (d) Choreographers’ Contract The Choreographers’ Contract is in place until January 2016 for the engagement of Choreographers by employers such as in Cruises, Theme Parks, Cabaret Floorshows, Trade Shows. The agreement allows for the rates to increase by RPI + 1% in January each year. RPI for December 2013 was x% so a rate increase of x% was implemented. The minimum fees which include the preparation (including up to 3 days for the purposes of casting, auditioning and pre-production meetings) and up to 3 weeks rehearsal including attendance at the technical dress rehearsal and the first night if mutually agreed, are as follows: 2013 From 2nd January 2014 Cruise Ship £3,151 £3,268 Holiday Camp / Theme Park £2,362 £2,449 Floorshow £2,362 £2,449 For any work in excess of the 3 weeks an additional fee of not less than £787 (£816 from 2nd January 2014) per week or part thereof will be paid. Daily Rate £239 (£248 from 2nd January 2014) (e) Circus Contract This contract, established in 2002, for the booking of individual acts and troupes continues to be used by members of the Association of Circus Proprietors. It does not contain any minimum rates and has a disputes procedure similar to the other VLEC contracts. Some updating of the contract was proposed in 2013 and discussions will continue in 2014. There were no formal disputes on this contract during the year. vii. Claims Equity Regional / National and Industrial Organisers with variety responsibilities undertake a considerable amount of legal work on behalf of members arising from their performance work. Predominantly such work tends to be one-off or short term engagements of acts which can be a single individual, a duo or a small group. These are booked directly or through an agent for work in pubs, clubs, hotels, private homes or large stadia or anything in between. Members can use a number of standard template contracts available from Equity such as the National Standard Contract or the Variety and Light Entertainment Council ‘Act as Known’ contract on which to document bookings. In practice a wide variety of methods are used such as by telephone or in person with nothing written at

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

all but more commonly now via email, websites, text message and social networking such as Facebook. Although a verbal contract is legally binding it makes disputes less likely and easier to resolve if key details are written down and agreed. Most disputes are breaches of contract arising from cancellations or non payment of fees and are resolved through the County Court if amicable means are exhausted. Some bookers’ contracts are challengeable on the basis of fairness under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 particularly if they allow the booker to cancel without consequence. This Equity has proved in court on a number of occasions. Most claims will be allocated to the Small Claims Track as they will be below the £10,000 limit which was recently increased from £5,000. In the case of late payments charges are normally applied in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 if the matter goes to court. In small claims cases the court fees are outlaid by Equity and will be recovered from the other party if the case is successful. Longer term contracts such as for entertaining in holiday camps, theme parks, visitor attractions and on cruise ships may have different issues such as non payment of holiday pay or national minimum wage or unfair dismissal. Artists on these contracts may be classed as either ‘workers’ or ‘employees’ and dealt with through Employment Tribunals. Members might also need to be accompanied at disciplinary or grievance hearings. Although Equity doesn’t normally take on such cases members regularly require advice on copyright. This may because they believe their own copyright has been infringed or they have been alleged to have infringed another’s. The most common cases are in relation to use of photographs, music, video or act names and issues with tribute acts. Equity has advised members on taking their cases to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court formerly the Patents County Court which was set up to decide on relatively straightforward low value cases up to the small claims limit. The London Variety Organiser and the seven National and Regional Organisers around the UK recovered £128,956 on behalf of members during the year. A further amount was recovered via our network of regional solicitors on behalf of members. This does not include personal injury claims which are dealt with via our specialist solicitors. viii. Children’s Entertainers Children’s entertainers make up a large group within the union now numbering over 1750, an increase of around 100 during the year. Many are active within the union and are on Variety Branch Committees or the Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee and the Equity Council. An open meeting of children’s entertainers was held in London in November which is a regular annual event. This was a well attended and productive meeting with key topics being: the Disclosure and Barring Service which took over from the Criminal Records Bureau; Universal Credit and National Insurance; entertainment licensing; advertising and marketing and contracts and legal matters. ix. Circus Artists The Circus Contract negotiated between Equity and the Association of Circus Proprietors (ACP) and maintained by the VLEC is still used by ACP members which make up the major employers within the commercial tented circus field. The process of giving the contract its first major overhaul since its introduction was commenced during the year but was still ongoing at the end of 2013. There were no formal disputes raised which needed to invoke the VLEC disputes procedure. Smaller circuses started to benefit from changes to Temporary Events Notices (TENs) under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act which were implemented in 2012. This allowed many to perform in one place for seven days using the less costly and bureaucratic TEN system which allows greater flexibility. Further changes will hopefully be implemented in 2014 removing all circuses from licensing altogether. Equity is on the board and a trustee of the Circus Development Agency (CDA), formerly Circus Arts Forum, which is a registered charity The aim of the body is to provide an information support network and advocacy body for the circus industry, largely through its website and occasional conferences and meetings. x. Stage Hypnotists Following Equity’s change of insurance provider towards the end of 2013 Equity will be able to offer public liability insurance for Stage Hypnotists at a much reduced cost. This would be available from early in 2014. Applicants for the insurance will need to be endorsed by a joint industry panel through the Variety and Light Entertainment Council as a condition set by the insurers as before. xi. Street Performers The agreement for the engagement of street performers by ‘Ethical Managers’ of the Independent Theatre Council (ITC) was maintained at the same minimum rates applying to Actors and Stage Management. Equity has also

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maintained links with Independent Street Arts Network (ISAN) and National Association of Street Artists (NASA). London’s South Bank set up a formalised system for street performance in 2013 in line with the long standing successful model in Covent Garden which has been in place a number of years. It is hoped that such systems can be further extended to appropriate areas where members want this to happen. Despite Equity’s and others submissions to the consultations against the proposal, Camden proceeded to introduce a compulsory licensing system for street artists throughout the borough principally aimed at buskers. This means that street performers of any kind have to purchase an annual licence in order to perform legally on the streets. Camden said this was in response to complaints from residents about noise nuisance so the hours of operation of busking are severely restricted. There are a number of ongoing campaigns against the system which Equity is supporting. The top up fire public liability insurance policy was amended slightly with the change of insurers and there was also a small increase in the premium. The policy continues to be good value and popular with at least 450 members taking it up. xii. Burlesque A template contract for burlesque performers was developed in 2012 with the assistance of a small working party of burlesque members. This was further revised in 2013 to address a couple of areas where amendments were needed. 2013 also saw a successful campaign in Hebden Bridge where the local authority attempted to prevent burlesque performances going ahead in council operated venues. The campaign run by local members assisted by staff received extensive media coverage and resulted in the council backing down. xiii. Social, Working Men’s and Other Clubs Equity maintained contact with the Working Men’s Club Institute Union (WMCIU) on issues of joint interest affecting clubs. Some Variety Branches have close contact with their local concert secretaries’ federations which is also often worthwhile. The contract between Equity and Committee of Registered Clubs Association (CORCA) has been in place for a number of years and can be issued by the constituent bodies of CORCA for artists who perform in their clubs. CORCA is administrated by the WMCIU and also comprises the Royal British Legion, the National Association of Labour Clubs, the National Association of Liberal Clubs, the Association of Conservative Clubs, the Royal Naval Association and the Royal Air Force Clubs. The club sector is remains a large and important employer of acts, particularly vocalists and comedians. xiv. Holiday Centres, Theme Parks and Visitor Attractions As a whole this sector provides extensive and varied work opportunities for Equity members whether they be vocal acts, comedians, children’s entertainers, puppeteers or actors and staff visit the key sites and maintain relationships with the major employers. At the larger holiday centres entertainment will be an important part of the guest offering so there will be a resident team as well as visiting cabaret acts. Aimed at keeping the younger guests occupied there will be costume characters and children’s entertainers, face-painters and puppeteers and things like circus skills workshops and other activities. Entertainment skills can often be honed by less experienced performers working in these resident teams which have been shown to be a good proving ground. Theme parks and visitor attractions also make use of entertainment staff either in shows for younger children or in costume character roles. Heritage sites often use performers in period costumes either acting roles or as tour guides to animate the sites. xv. Cruise Equity along with Actors’ Equity (USA) and the Canadian and Australian unions have been in discussions with the International Transport Federation (ITF) to see if it is possible to introduce model terms for employment of entertainers on cruise ships. Currently cruise operators use their own individual contracts which vary considerably in their treatment of ‘Seafarers’. Progress during 2013 was positive. xvi. Live Music Act Further deregulation of entertainment was implemented in the summer of 2013 following the passage of the Live Music Act in 2012. This latest change allowed the performances of plays and dance up to an audience size of 500 between 8am and 11pm to go ahead without a licence as well as indoor sport up to an audience size of 1000. Further changes to exempt live music up to an audience size of 500 (an increase from 200) were being consulted on at the end of 2013 along with proposals to exempt circus. Equity and the Musicians’ Union supported these changes and it is hoped they will be implemented in the spring of 2014.

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xvii. Disclosure and Barring Service Following the passage of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 the role of undertaking Criminal Records Bureau checks passed to the Disclosure and Barring Service. Part of the change was to more tightly define ‘regulated activity’ in relation to children or vulnerable adults and reduce the number of people potentially needing to be checked. Most Equity members engaged in entertainment and educational work with children as freelancers would not do so regularly enough or in a way that would constitute regulated activity. As such they should not require checking. These changes applied in England and Wales but not Scotland which continued to operate its own scheme through Disclosure Scotland.

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CHAPTER 4:

RECORDED MEDIA GENERAL

2013 like the previous year was extremely busy for the Equity staff in the Recorded Media department with the Specialist Industrial Organisers in near constant negotiations with the BBC, ITV, PACT, BSKYB, C4 and S4C. All parts of the audio visual industries continue to face the challenges of technological advances and real financial constraints on broadcasters and producers. The fragmentation of the industry into different means of delivery of members work continues apace. Performances by our members in TV and Film are available to the consumer via our primary channels , catch-up services ( such as the BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV.com, SKY Anytime and 5 on-demand ), use on the broadcasters family of channels ( such as BBC3/4,E4/More 4, ITV2/3/4 etc) , download to own services ( such as Apples iTunes), overseas sales, video/DVD, Subscription video on demand( SVoD) and back again through a process of repeats. Equity has had to adapt and develop its response to these new and changing means of delivery and has deployed residual, royalty and collective licence structures to ensure remuneration to members for the exploitation their performance. The primary broadcasters catch up services have maintained their popularity and reach to the consumers across platform delivery systems such as smart TV’s, PC’s, smart phones, tablets, broadband, freesat, freeview and games consoles etc during 2013 an extension to the Equity/ITV catch up service was agreed for a two year period and 2014 will see negotiations commence to extend the BBC iPlayer service and 4oD/4Seven agreements. All the negotiations covering Television collective agreements have been extremely tough and drawn out as new means of exploitation of members work have had an impact on our long cherished repeats structure and out of time escalators. The staff have been extremely fastidious in dealing with the new areas of exploitation such as SVoD to ensure that when the royalty is applied to sales to these SVoD providers such as Netflix the royalty is applied at the correct point in the revenue stream and that any deductions are transparent, appropriate and proportionate. SVoD providers are increasingly more active in the production by way of investment in programmes to acquire SVoD rights this in particular has been a real challenge on the remuneration to members in such situations as the Equity negotiators and PACT are some distance apart in what members should receive. The video/DVD market continues to decline and morph into a Christmas box set market with sales outside of the Christmas period dwindling. The cost incurred by the manufacture and distribution of box sets has increased but the volume sales are higher as if the cost per unit which should me relatively healthy returns to members within the context of a declining market. Download to Own (DTO) continues to make small inroads into the wider home entertainment market with Apple/iTunes taking the lions share. Where productions are sold via DTO the Union has in place the royalty based on the download price with an agreed level of deductions. Even this new platform is subject to change and the taste of consumers. Historically DTO or a film or TV programme could only really be done by way of saving it, once downloaded, on an individual’s PC. With the migration of use from PC’s to smart phones/tablets and other mobile devices DTO suffered because of restrictions of storage capacity but the consumer can now store their purchase via the cloud or other similar systems and the consumer can then streaming the programme/film to their preferred device. The level of TV production remains healthy and 2013 saw an increase of overseas investment and producers in the UK, the majority of who are from the USA who have been encouraged to come to the UK because of the tax breaks available on high end television, defined as in excess of £1m per episode. US companies are investing in productions in exchange for rights and we are seeing an increase in productions in the UK but for primary transmission in the US and elsewhere. The complexities of business models whereby rights in productions are acquired present the negotiators with challenges as most of the additional rights packages are detailed with special stipulations attached to contracts which are lengthy and require a level of scrutiny from our agent colleagues and staff in Recorded Media department. Inward investment, largely from the US, continues to grow and much of UK studio space is full until 2015. The Recorded Media Department continues to undertake studio, set and location visits across the UK. Equity is making its presence felt in all the production centres established in Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow. During 2014 we hope to continue this drive to reach members directly in their workplace. The Recorded Media dept now has a dedicated Recruitment and Retention Organiser and who in conjunction with Equity’s R&R Team launched during 2013 a 100% campaign whereby we hope to push membership in the standing TV continuing dramas as close to 100% as possible. Equity and the Recorded Media department continues to work closely with Irish Equity which, during the course

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of the year, has faced serious challenges from the employers’ groups in the Republic of Ireland who have sought to avoid using the collective agreements covering film and TV in the Republic. Equity has continued to assist Irish Equity on the terms of the UK agreement and have collectively ensured that UK producers working in the Irish Republic use the terms of our PACT TV or Cinema Agreements. The Recorded Media Department, the Personal Managers Association (PMA) and the Co-operative Personal Managers Association continue to enjoy a fruitful relationship all issues pertinent to the industry and members of both agents’ organisations continue to play their specific role in the process of negotiations. Representatives from both the PMA and CPMA have been active and invaluable participants in a number of meetings with the broadcasters and producers and have continued to play an active role in general negotiations and production specific issues. 2012 was again another extremely tough year in the audio-visual industry with the broadcasters reducing the level of commissions from the independent sector and many productions not being re-commissioned. Those productions re-commissioned faced a cut in the budget on offer. In some cases productions faced a 40% deficit in funding and therefore had to work hard to secure deficit funding to enable the production to get off the ground. The independent production sector was not immune to the serious economic downturn experienced across the UK and the number of productions commissioned across all the UK terrestrial and digital channels slightly increased from the 2011 levels to 190 this was largely due to the increase in the number of commissions from BSKYB, the UKTV channels and an increase in the number of US productions coming to the UK which is to be welcomed. All the broadcasters reigned in their commissioning ambitions and as with previous years the BBC remained the biggest commissioner of independent productions. Commissions originating from BSKYB increased considerably. Members and agents experienced the squeezing of fees back to the minimum or slightly above with the number of episodes being decreased and the size of casts being squeezed as well. Commissions outside of London in the English regions and in the Nations remain a real problem and one which Equity is tackling directly with broadcasters and casting directors in the Regions and Nations. The number of commissions coming out of the UK secondary channels (which always was low) experienced the same problems as their terrestrial rivals but the good news is that a number of the so called minor Channels sought to increase the level of commissioning. Whilst 2011 saw an increasing number of internet only productions being commissioned by the broadcasters and produced by the independent sector, this has not continued into 2012. Where internet were commissioned they were largely as a support to existing Television shows and sought to expand on individual characters or develop further touched up storyline. Whilst this is a healthy trend it does present Equity and the agents’ community with challenges in the rights required by the broadcaster both for new platform exploitation and ongoing sales beyond such platforms. As detailed elsewhere in the Annual report we are seeing increasing levels of investment from the USA particularly and hopefully this will continue with the introduction of tax breaks in 2013 for high end television production. HBO who continue to invest heavily in production and specifically have greatly helped production in Northern Ireland with the returning series ‘Game of Thrones’. US broadcasters Starz filmed ‘Da Vincis Demons’ in Wales during 2013 both productions stimulated the local economy and we hope this will continue during 2014 and beyond.

A. CINEMA FILMS 2013 has been a healthy year for feature film production with titles made on Equity terms represented as follows: Full Budget (£3 million or over) Low Budget (£1 million - £3 million) Very Low Budget (under £1 million) Total – 85

56 12 17

Option A (Net profit share participation) Option B (Royalty payments) Total – 85

63 22

This demonstrates that there was a steady increase in Equity film production up from a total of 78 registered productions in 2012. Of these 85 productions, 77 registered with PACT and utilised PACT/Equity contracts while 8 registered direct with Equity. The PACT/Equity Cinema Films Agreement is in force until at least April 2014 but late 2013 saw preparations for our claims under the new Agreement. At the second meeting of the Screen and New Media Committee on 11th December 2013, a draft claim to revise the Agreement was considered which will be further developed by a newly formed Cinema Films Working Group, which in turn will be constituted in early 2014. The bulk of the claim will focus on extending Equity artists’

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participation in the ongoing success of film productions and introducing / strengthening wording on late payment penalties and reporting / audits. Other important items will include increases in fees and pension provision. Our overarching leverage for any claim of monetary value (whether around the engagement of performers or ongoing reporting liabilities) will derive from the changes to the national insurance treatment of entertainers the implementation of which shall coincide with our negotiations - they come into force on 6th April 2014. These shall result in a saving to producers of the class 1 Employer contribution of 13.8% (on engagement fees as well as royalty / net profit share payments) and will further remove the administrative burden on producers of dealing with remittance of these contributions to the HMRC. In accordance with the current Cinema Films Agreement, the fees contained therein rise 5% year on year. These are the minimum feature film rates from 5th April 2013 to 4th April 2014: Actors / singers / dancers

Daily Basic

Daily inc use fees

Full Budget (£3 million or over) Low Budget (£1 million - £3 million) Very Low Budget (under £1 million)

£122 £122 £122

£464 £214 £183

Weekly Basic

Weekly inc use fees

Full Budget (£3 million or over) Low Budget (£1 million - £3 million) Very Low Budget (under £1 million)

£488 £488 £488

£1,855 £854 £732

Stunts Stunt performer daily Stunt performer weekly Stunt co-ordinator daily Stunt co-ordinator weekly

£511 inc use fees £2,044 inc use fees £649 inc use fees £2,596 inc use fees

Stunt insurance daily Stunt insurance weekly

£15.50 £31

Voices ADR session rate £267 ADR session rate (Low Budget / Very Low Budget) £87 (+75% for Low Budget films and +50% for Very Low Budget films) Holiday pay Per day worked

£13.89

2013 has also seen the adoption by the Equity council of two new templates - the Equity Student Film Contract and the Equity Non-Commercial Film Contract. The defining characteristic of both student films (projects undertaken by student filmmakers as an integral aspect of their higher education studies) and non-commercial films (films which are unlikely ever to have a theatrical release, or indeed any commercial release) is that as a matter of course the budget behind such projects is not sufficient to allow for the registration costs and rates provided for in our CFA, not even those specially reduced rates catering for Low Budget and Very Low Budget films. These are films being made on micro-budgets and sometimes (student film) purportedly with no budget at all. Furthermore, as there are no commercial uses intended, the structures set out in our CFA are not reflective of such projects. This presented a clear gap in our collective bargaining arrangements for this area of film within the larger film landscape. Council approved the templates and they are now readily available to members and to producers via our website.

B. TELEVISION

Independent Television Production

Agreement for Main, Walk-on and Background Artists

Equity negotiators have been in near constant negotiation with PACT during 2012 through 2013 to revise the Equity/PACT Television Production Agreement. Both Equity and PACT have exchanged lengthy proposals to revise the agreement and the items are complex particularly around the areas of new media platforms such as Video on

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Demand and Download to Own etc. All the collectively bargained agreements have repeat structures for repeats on the primary channels and an out of time escalator structure which protects older productions when they are repeated. We have now entered a period of discussions with PACT and the broadcasters where they are stating that the cost of repeats with the escalator means that , with a few exceptions , they cannot afford to repeat on the primary channels and therefore the programmes will receive a ‘repeat’ on the UK secondary channels. These not easy issues to resolve, if at all, but we continue to talk around this issue and the proposals submitted to PACT. With no end to the negotiations in 2013 Equity and PACT agreed an interim agreement which was discussed towards the end of 2012 but through some last minute problems didn’t in fact come into place until August 2013 with the items being a) 3% increase on financial items b) rewording of the clauses with the agreement dealing with multi episodic provisions and c) the removal of the compulsory £50 advance against royalty payments for sales with the UK secondary television market. Discussions have continued with PACT with have been complex and slow. 2013 was a very busy year in terms of volume of production and from April 2013 the number of productions with overseas investment , largely from the US and a small but increasing number of productions made here for primary exploitation in the USA. This increase is directly attributable to the introduction of tax breaks/relief for high end TV, defined as productions with a per episode budget of not less than £1m. This development can only be a good thing about with such high budget productions legions of lawyers are involved with them come reams of special stipulations attached to standard Union contracts. Both Recorded Media staff and our colleagues within the PMA are working closely on a production by production basis and generally on special stipulations to try and remove the worst excesses contained within the stipulations. All the broadcasters commissioned high numbers of production with BSKYB noticeably commissioning high levels of productions and we have seen a higher volume of US invested productions in the UK. 2014 looks as if it will be even busier for the production sector. The Recorded Media department continues to be extremely busy dealing with day to day production issues, dealing with inquiries from members, agents and producers, processing claims across all areas of recorded media work.

ITV

Negotiations Negotiations continued on the ITV/Equity Television Agreement throughout the year. The negotiations have focussed on ITV requiring their own producers agreement. At the moment ITV only use the ITV/Equity Agreement for their long running series such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale. For all other production, they use the PACT/Equity Agreement. Therefore ITV wish to update and change their existing agreement to incorporate all their production needs and not be tied down by the PACT Agreement which they have no part in negotiating. The initial proposal from ITV was to have a higher upfront weekly fee which would buy a package of rights within this fee. This was rejected by Equity due to the number of rights included in the fee and the impact this would have on artists working on rates above the minimum fees. Discussion continued looking at an increased engagement fee but with additional payments for the additional rights. It was agreed that ITV would draft a long form agreement incorporating our discussions and this would be presented to Equity and this draft would form the base for continuing the negotiations. There was a 4% increase on the fees from the 1st of January 2013 as a good faith interim measure whilst we continue with the negotiations. The increase takes the minimum programme fee up to £400 from £384.30. Discussions were held regarding the auto-enrolment of pensions to make sure the process was introduced correctly and in the best manner for members working on ITV productions. ITV agreed to promote the Equity Pension Scheme as the best choice for artists rather than being auto-enrolled in their chosen government scheme. Day to day issues on productions made by ITV have been dealt with on an ongoing basis. There has been a significant increase in drama productions made by ITV, which has been good news. Forum meetings continued to take place throughout the year on the production of ‘Coronation Street’ to deal with workplace issues. This forum has once again enabled a good working relationship between the cast and production and most definitely assisted in smoothing out issues before they turn into disputes. Various cast members have taken turns to attend the forum meetings and everyone has agreed how valuable they are in ensuring that good communication is achieved, with the support of their Union. These forum meetings have been particularly helpful with regard to the set of ‘Coronation Street’ moving from Quay Street to Salford at the end of the year. The forum provided a place to communicate any concerns about the move. The cast were also updated on the ongoing negotiations during various cast meetings throughout the year. Thanks

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need to be expressed for Julie Hesmondhalgh, the long serving deputy for the cast who left in November, for her brilliant support and help over the years. Cast meetings took place on ‘Emmerdale’ and their various concerns were addressed such as the use of their clips, holiday pay and video on demand payments. This year ITV got the result of their ongoing case against the Revenue. ITV lost their fight in the Court of Appeal against the Revenue that Class 1NI contributions are applicable for artists engaged on Equity contracts. This case has had extremely far reaching consequences for the industry resulting in the Revenue conducting consultation across the industry regarding Class 1 NICs. This consultation has resulted in the Revenue taking the step that Class 1 NI contributions would not be applicable for artists from April 2014. Equity will be seeking to make up any losses to members’ statutory rights in negotiations to ensure we do our best to protect rights such as maternity pay etc. Equity has had in place since 2007 an agreement with ITV for the use of programmes made under our Agreements on their ITV Player video on demand / catch up service. Negotiations continued with ITV for the renewal of the collective licence for 2013. These have been prolonged and difficult negotiations as we have been determined to get the best possible deal in place and would not settle for the amounts they originally offered. ITV finally proposed a two-year deal which represents a 45% increase from the 2012 agreement and a 103.5% increase from the initial amount in 2007. The deal for 2014 is for a RPI increase capped at 4%. This was agreed by the Screen and New Media Committee. Talks are continuing with ITV to ensure that full and complete reporting are provided by ITV to BECS, to ensure they can action the distribution of the money to artists.

BBC Television Agreement

During 2013 Equity and the BBC continued to meet to review and re-draft the content of the agreement to ensure that the wording accurately reflects current custom and practice. This process will also strive to incorporate into the agreement all of the various Equity/BBC side letters/agreements, it’s anticipated that this project will be concluded in the Spring of 2014.

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Main Contract Fees The minimum was increased by 3% from 1st January 2013. Weekly Minimum Fee £588.00 Dancers £620.00 One Day Fee £383.00 One Day Documentary (6hours) £259.00 Voice Session Fee £200.00 Stunt Performers £378.00 Session singers £220.00 Fittings/Read-through (full day) £59.85 Fittings/Read-through (1/2 day) £30.70 Theatre Extracts (up to 3 mins) £50.00 Theatre Extracts (up to 5 mins) £76.20 Full details of all the agreement’s minimum fees and rates can be accessed via the Equity website. Organising and Recruitment During 2013 the vast majority of both BBC in-house and dramas and comedies made by independent production companies for the BBC received at least one Equity cast visit and in some cases follow up visits were also undertaken. In September Steven Littlewood joined the Recorded Media Department to work as a Recruitment & Retention Organiser. This job includes identifying activists, recruiting new members and establishing cast forums on the BBC’s continuous dramas these being, EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City, Doctors, River City and Pobol Y Cwm.

Further to the Pension Auto Enrolment legislation, Equity spent time in negotiations with the BBC to ensure that the Equity Pension Scheme was eligible and compliant in time for the BBC’s auto enrolment launch in February 2013.

Walk-ons and Supporting Artists The rates remain unchanged at, Supporting Artists Day Fee £85.50 Night Fee £93.70

On behalf of IPAT (International Performers Aid Trust) Equity was able to secure from the BBC a £10,000 Comic Relief donation, this money was paid in recognition of the artists contributions to the 2013 Comic Relief Appeal.

Full details of all the other payments for Walk-On & Supporting Artists as contained in Section 12 of the BBC/ Equity Television Agreement can be accessed via the Equity website.

Following on from the previous Only Fools and Horses daytime repeat variation agreement it was further agreed that BBC One could broadcast a further cycle of daytime repeats. The actors were paid £20,000 per hour in proportion to their original residual basic fee.

Walk-On & Supporting Artists Engaged During 2012 During 2013 the BBC expenditure on Walk-On and Supporting Artists totalled £6,700,000 with 50,019 timesheets issued. The table below breaks down the number of Walk-On and Supporting Artists engaged during the last four years. 2010 2011 2012 2013 WO engagements 9,813 9,563 8,388 8,236 SA engagements 35,650 34,810 39,861 41,783

It was further agreed that BBC One could repeat the five series of Keeping Up Appearances at £15,000 per hour to be apportioned between the actors in proportion to their original residual basic fee during weekday afternoons. The BBC transmitted 40 x 30 minute episodes, this equated to the actors benefitting from a pay away of £300,000 (20 hours X £15,000). In June the BBC met with Equity to discuss the repeat transmission of four titles (two dramas and two comedies) during the daytime on BBC Two. The titles being Bergerac, The Pallisers, Are You Being Served and Allo Allo! The projected payments to the actors based on the average hourly rate of £8000 and the total number of transmitted material equated to £1,472,000. In December as an extension to the OFAH agreement it was agreed that BBC One could daytime repeat the two part Christmas Special Miami Twice. These two episodes totalled 2 hours 15 minutes and Equity negotiated an hourly rate of £30,000 which resulted in repeat fees of £67,500. The value of these repeat payaways far exceeds the alternatives available to the BBC’s daytime schedulers these being producing yet more reality TV shows or buying dramas from the USA and Australia. As these alternatives would not generate any repeat fees payaways.

Walk-Ons Day Fee £105.70 Night Fee £127.90

Expenditure on Artists During 2013 the totals expenditure paid to all artists by the BBC was £44,100,000 this includes £41,500,000 paid to the main artists on BBC Television and £2,600,000 paid to the main artists on BBC Radio. This represents an increase of £12,900,000 when compared to the previous year’s total. Year Expenditure on Artists 2013 £44,100,000 2012 £31,200,000 2011 £35,500,000 The Repeat Fees paid for BBC 1 and BBC 2 was £13,500,000 and the Repeat Fees for BBC 3, BBC 4, CBBC, Cbeebies and BBC Alba was £1,600,000 making a total of £15,100,000. This represents an increase of £2,000,000 when compared to the 2012 total. Year Expenditure on repeat Fees 2013 £15,100,000 2012 £13,100,000 2011 £14,100,000

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BBC Catch Up Service (7day catch-up iPlayer and series stacking) Resulting from the terms of the current agreement the BBC will on behalf of Equity pay to BECS the following monies to the distributed to the artists featured on the service during 2013/14. 2013/14 £481,271 £193,110

7 days catch-up series stacking

The terms of the licence agreement permit the BBC to broadcast up to 5,200 hours of 7 day catch-up TV and 780 hours of series stacking per year. In November 2013 the number of requests for BBC iPlayer programmes across TV and radio for the month 263 million, compared to November 2012 when there was 207 million requests, an increase of 27%. The current agreement is due to expire on the 31st March 2014 and at the time of writing this report negotiations are on-going with the BBC. BBC Three Broadband Premieres 2011/12 The BBC is currently deciding if they want to resurrect the agreement that expired on the 31st March 2012 for the period 2013/14.

C. TV AND NEW MEDIA COMMERCIALS

Equity Payaways for Secondary Exploitation 2012/13 BBC Worldwide’s payaways to Equity members for the financial year 2012/13 as a result of secondary exploitation totalled £23,894,763 (this includes all media activity - television exploitation, video/DVD, radio, music, audio books and digital media). This figure represents a 5.75% increase against the 2011/12 payaways. Below are two graphs, the first graph compares the year on year totals for the period 2008/09 to 2012/13. Whilst the second gives a breakdown of the Equity spend per business area 2012/13 these being Sales & Distribution, Consumer Products, Consumer Digital, SER (Simultaneous European Relay) & DTH (Direct-To-Home) in Eire. There was a slight decline in television sales to UK channels in 2011/12, which has resulted in a reduction in payments to contributors in comparison to the previous year. After a slight drop in SER payments during 2010/11 due to delayed reporting from Holland and Belgium, the overall payments for 2011/12 actually increased by 14.7% to £3,950,000.

Minimum Recommended Basic Studio Fees (BSF) and Session Fees. Featured Artists. Visual - £300 - £500. Voice-Over - £200 (one hour session). Out-of-vision Singer - £225 for 90 minute session, £180 for a 60 minute session. Any extension of the session shall be paid at 50% of the session fee, (clause 11.2.5). Stunt Co-ordinator - £700. (A co-ordinator will not receive use fees unless he/she appears in the commercial, clause 12.4.1). Stunt Performer - £550.

See below for two graphs, the first graph compares the year on year totals for the period 2006/07 to 2011/12. The second graph gives a breakdown of the spend per business area 2010/11 – 2011/12, which includes the USA, VIDEO, UKTV, SER (Simultaneous European Relay), PRIME, OTHER, EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa), AUNZ (Australia and New Zealand) and ASIA.

Over the last year, Equity has been in touch with the IPA on a variety of issues pertaining to commercials, including asking for IPA members to use the agreed Artists’ Declaration Form (ADF) instead of their own version of this document and expressing concerns about the, in our view, misuse of penciling-in at auditions.

Other minimum payments potentially due. Wig/Wardrobe fittings (clause 9.1) - £50 or 25% of BSF whichever is greater, for up to two hours, 50% of BSF for up to four ½ hours, full BSF plus meal allowance thereafter. Recall (clause 5.7.5) - £50. Costumes (clause 9.2.1.2.) - £50 or 25% of BSF whichever is greater. Voice-overs. Tags (clause 10.3.3) - BSF for first tag, then 10% of BSF for each additional tag. Test Commercials (clause 10.3.4) – Normal Session fee for one hour recording (£200). Important Reminder. Your BSF should not include holiday pay (a UK statutory requirement) as this must be shown separately. In addition, your BSF should not include expenses or overtime. As well as the BSF, featured artists should also receive repeat fees for UK shown commercials. To calculate these, go to www.usefee.tv. Equity recommends that you do not accept a reduced BSF for the purpose of use fees. Walk-on and Background Artists. Walk-on artists - £220 - £300, plus statutory holiday pay. No usage due. Background artists - £125 - £200, plus statutory holiday pay. No usage due. Wig/Wardrobe fittings (clause 5.2) - £50 or 25% of BSF whichever is greater, for up to two hours, 50% of BSF for up to four ½ hours, full BSF plus meal allowance thereafter. Recall (clause 4.2) - £50. Costumes (clause 5.2) – 25% of BSF for first additional costume, plus 15% of BSF for each additional one. Short haircut (clause 5.3.3) – 25% of BSF.

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Recommended meal and mileage allowances for all artists. Meal Allowances. Breakfast - £4.41. Lunch - £7.34. Dinner - £10.30. Mileage Allowances. Cars – 45p per mile. Motorcycles – 24p per mile. Ancillary Usage. Cinema – 500% of BSF for one year. Sell-through/Rental Video – 275% of BSF for one year. In-flight – 100% for three months’ usage or 200% for one year. Post Office DRTV – 100% for five weeks’ usage. (This rate applies for use in shops.) Internet – 100% for three months’ use in one country. Virals – 600% of BSF for one year. Stills/Print Usage. Point of Sale (POS) - £1500. Print - £1500. Poster/Billboards - £1500. Direct Mail - £500 (Based on £225 for 500K leaflets, £500 for 1-2 million). All Print Media - £5000. Press Packaging - £600. Client Website – 400% of BSF for one year’s usage or 100% for three months. Stills usage on website - £1000. Commercials made to be shown outside the UK Only commercials made for the US or Canada will attract use-fee payments, members are advised that they should be contracted on either the US or Canadian unions’ contracts for such work (SAG or ACTRA respectively). Commercials to be shown in other countries will be paid via a yearly buyout. Details of these buyouts can be found on www.usefee.tv.

D. CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT

A highlight of 2013 was the final closure of a major studio audit. After lengthy negotiations over the last few years and culminating in a meeting with the studio’s representatives in LA, our claims under the audit (relating to the calculation of videogram and television royalties for our members’ work over seventeen titles) resulted in a $4.5 million settlement. Audits remain active with two studios although we remain in discussions and continue to monitor the activity of all. 2013 also set a precedent for the recovery of costs to the union both in the settlement mentioned above and in relation to a previously closed out audit where we recovered substantial amounts covering work undertaken by Equity. Equity continues to enforce, collect and distribute royalties and residuals for titles made under the Equity Cinema Films Agreements and certain television agreement titles. Over the course of 2013, outside of the audit process a total of £1,442,000 has been distributed including royalties paid out from studios Warner Bros., MGM, Sony and Paramount. Indigenous titles remain successful including The King’s Speech, The Inbetweeners Movie, The Iron Lady and Moon. This figure further includes significant sums from HBO shows Band of Brothers and Game of Thrones and now Rome as well as ongoing instalments flowing from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy settlement for various Hallmark / RHI titles / Crown titles. We have been unable to distribute some of the monies collected as a result of contract enforcement. Amounts yet to be distributed are held pending detailed allocation information which is due from the producer in each case under a strict formula set out within the Cinema Films Agreement. The audit exercise has been extended to a further exercise in obtaining detailed reporting and cast information, which (once complete) will enable us to proceed to send monies to BECS for distribution.

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Total royalties / residuals / net profit share recovered in 2013 on behalf of performers engaged on Equity contracts over 2013 amount to circa £4.25 million. In addition to these payments, Equity has also assisted members with numerous other TV royalties due from broadcasters and other rights holders.

E. AUDIO, RADIO & RECORDING BBC Audio Agreement

The BBC Audio Agreement is updated annually on the 1st of August. Negotiations were held with the BBC and Equity, in consultation with the Audio Committee, put in a proposal to the BBC for a 3% increase on all fees. It was believed this was a reasonable and fair proposal in light of the staff union offer from the BBC which was a £800 flat increase across the board. This was accepted by the Unions representing full time staff working at the BBC and staff within the BBC would be receiving this flat £800 increase. The BBC have always used the staff increase as a guide to what they could offer to Equity as an increase on our agreements. The £800 flat increase equates to an average increase of around 2% for staff within the BBC. However, those working in radio earn significantly less in comparison to full time staff and when comparing to those working on the Radio Drama Company, the £800 increase equates to just less than a 3% increase and we thought that a 3% increase was fair. The BBC came back saying no to 3% and felt that 2% was a fairer increase. Equity made it clear that 2% would be very difficult to get agreed. After much discussion it was agreed to offer 3% to the minimum rates and 2% on all other rates. It was also agreed to add on an additional 2% for DRM downloads of radio programmes. This would be offered to all fees even though only certain programmes would actually be included as a download. This was agreed by Council and the rates were therefore increased by 5% on the minimum fees and 4% on all other fees on the 1st of August 2013. The BBC requested that the rates for readings be frozen because of the cost implications for this area of work. This was rejected by the Committee. The BBC also raised their concern of the knock on scale rates in the agreement and wished to only increase the minimum fees. This was also rejected. The members of the Audio Committee were encouraged with the outcome of the negotiations and felt that Equity managed to secure the best deal for members. Throughout the year, various issues arose on the production of ‘The Archers’ and Cast Forum meetings were held in 2013. Various issues were discussed such as late contracts, overtime payments, expenses and the booking system. There definitely seems to be an improvement in the day to day productions issues and the forum has helped iron out issues before they become disputes. There has been a lot of discussion with the BBC about a new radio drama production called ‘Homefront’. This is a new slot for radio drama which has been welcomed by the Audio Committee. The BBC proposed to pay all artists a flat rate per episode to include public service uses and any repeats. This would have resulted in members being paid less than the minimum rates as per the agreement. After difficult and contracted negotiations, Equity held the line and ensured that all artists working on this production would be paid in line with the agreement. Independent Programmes commissioned by BBC Radio Equity continued to promulgate fees and circulated them to the various independent producers working in this sector. The fees are in line with those contained in the Equity/BBC Audio Agreement and due to the feedback Equity receives from members and agents this indicates that the fees are being adhered to by the producers. There has been continuous liaison between Equity and the Radio Independents Group to ensure good communication between the two organisations. BBC Singers In October 2011, Mark Thompson announced that under the Delivering Quality First programme, there would need to be a total of 20% cost savings across the BBC. The BBC commissioned John Myerscough to provide an external evaluation of the BBC Performing Groups in order to ascertain how and where these savings could be made. Myerscough identified that attempting to make 20% savings across the groups would risk damaging the quality and delivery of the artistic purposes of the group and it was then proposed to make a total saving of 10% of the groups’ total budget. However, it was proposed this saving would not have an equal impact on all the groups, with some groups facing a less than 10% cut and some facing a much higher than 10% cut. In June, the BBC outlined their proposed plans to makes these savings for the BBC Singers: - 16% cut to the budget - removing flexible leave

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- reducing admin costs by sharing functions, especially among the three London based groups and the Proms - generating modest increases in box office revenue - a review of pay - a review of operational and administration costs including local travel and subsistence payments - loss of 4 full time posts reducing the BBC Singers from 22 singers to 18 singers Equity has continued to represent the singers throughout this consultation process and has been arguing very strongly against any job losses. The management were asked to provide a model diary showing what repertoire the group would be doing at a core number of 18. Discussions continued regarding the choice for people to go onto reduced contracts, thereby creating further savings for the BBC. After much discussion, then singers agreed to take part in a preference exercise stating whether they would consider voluntary redundancy or working on a reduced contract. The result of this exercise was that there was interest in both of these and thankfully it worked out that no compulsory redundancies were made. The singers are now working as a core group of 18. Spoken Voice Devices – Language and Educational Use Equity consulted with the educational language publishers regarding an increase to the rates for 2013 and a 2% increase was agreed on the minimum rates. Audiobooks To Audiobook Working Party continued their work throughout the year to promote and represent members working in this area. The members of Audiobook Working Party are – Sean Barrett, Laurence Bouvard, Caroline Lennon, Sheila Mitchell, Liza Ross and David Thorpe. The Working Party continued to monitor the agreements and practices across the industry. An area of concern for the Working Party, which seems to becoming more and more common, are deals between different publishers / producers where you are recording a book for one publisher but that book is also being published by another often larger publisher. Members on the Audiobook Register have been alerted to this to ensure people are getting all the information and therefore negotiating a proper fee for the book. Late payments has also been a very difficult issue and the Working Party has discussed ways to tackle this and provide the best support for members. In May the sixth open meeting for audiobook readers was held and this was once again a very successful and informative meeting. It was attended by close to 50 members. The title of the event was “THE CHALLENGES FACING PRODUCERS & READERS IN TODAY’S MARKET”. Members had the opportunity to hear a report back from Equity updating the members on what has been happening in this area and the battles their Union has been fighting on their behalf. The Q&A session provided an opportunity for members to give feedback, put forward their own thoughts and ideas and to ask any questions. The second part of the meeting comprised of short presentations from a panel of industry experts giving their take on the changing market place we are in and what challenges the industry are facing. The panel consisted of: Daryl Chapman – Studio Manager from the RNIB; Paul Kent, Audio Producer of Ladbroke Audio Ltd and Douglas Kean of Interface Voice Studio. The feedback from the meeting was very positive. Members appreciated the opportunity to come together as a group to discuss their concerns and found it to be a most productive and informative evening. In October Equity found out that AudioGO had gone into administration. AudioGO, previously BBC Audiobooks was sold to AudioGO Limited in 2010. BBC Audiobooks was formerly Chivers Audiobooks and sold to the BBC in 2001. They were one of the leading audio publishers in the industry. It is believed AudioGO had over extended themselves and there was a serious cash flow issue. There was an attempt to sell the business but unfortunately both the interested parties pulled out of the sale at the last minute and there was no other option but to file for administration. Equity immediately was in consultation with the administrators regarding the money owed to artists and began compiling a list of the artists who were owed their recording fees. An email went out to all artists on the Audiobooks List informing them of the news and updating them on the next steps. An open meeting was held on the 27th of November for members and agents to give people an opportunity to ask questions and discuss their concerns. The Working Party assisted in setting up this meeting and helped field questions from the members. The argument was made to the administrators that they did not have the rights to sell on the master recordings of

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any AudioGO titles if the readers’ fees were outstanding. This is due to the failure to adequately discharge artists’ rights due to the non payment and argued therefore, that these books did not form part of AudioGo’s assets. It came to our attention that Audible wished to purchase the master recordings and the rights to the majority of AudioGO’s catalogue. It was made very clear to the administrators that we would seek an injunction as we did not believe they had the rights to complete this sale. After some negotiation, Equity secured a deal with the administrators for the titles that Audible were wishing to acquire the rights for and Audible agreed to pay the full amount outstanding to the readers. There were a total of 97 titles and the money paid back to artists equates to £87,096. There are 59 artists who have been paid. This has been a brilliant result thanks to the support of the Working Party and shows what it means when members stand strong together. Thanks go to all the members of the Audiobooks Working Party for their ongoing hard work and dedication over the years, which has helped members working in this area greatly.

CHAPTER 5:

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INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES

A. BRITISH/AMERICAN EQUITY EXCHANGES US to UK

UK to US

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CHAPTER 6:

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ACTORS A. EUROFIA

Two EuroFIA meetings took place during 2013. The first EuroFIA meeting took place in Edinburgh on 13th and 14th April. In her capacity as FIA Vice President, Christine Payne acted as Chair and the formal speech of welcome was given by Natasha Gerson on behalf of Equity. Equity was otherwise represented by Christine Payne, Jean Rogers, Bryn Evans, Stephen Spence, John Barclay and Louise McMullan. A number of members of Equityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Scottish Committee attended as observers. Louise Grainger was present throughout to coordinate with hotel staff and function venues where dinners and social events were taking place. Louise organised a very popular tour at the Scottish Whisky Experience for EuroFIA delegates. Items under discussion at the meeting included: FIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continuing work through the European social dialogue committees; the Gender equality framework of action; copyright issues (in particular private copying, ratification of the Beijing Audiovisual Treaty and the prospective EU-US Free Trade Agreement); the potential/expansion of the European Dance Passport and the desire to organise a World Live Performance Conference. Bryn Evans took part in a panel discussion on employment practices and wage rates for opera singers alongside a representative of the French union, SFA. Bryn gave a very informative presentation about the agreements achieved by Equity establishing minimum fees in the sector. Following the EuroFIA meeting, a joint meeting was held with a number of European Collecting Societies on 15th April. Christine Payne, John Barclay and Louise McMullan attended from Equity and Jean Rogers, Jo Cameron Brown, Natasha Gerson and Andy Prodger attended the meeting from BECS. BECS Board members Bryn Evans and Stephen Spence were also part of the Equity delegation. BECS acted as host for the event and funded a dinner for attendees on the evening of the 14th Members of the Scottish Committee were also present as observers at this meeting. Local members also provided entertainment for the social event on 15th. The second EuroFIA meeting took place in Brussels on 14th and 15th November, hosted by Belgian affiliate ACODCultuur. Equity was represented by Christine Payne, Malcolm Sinclair and Louise McMullan. Christine chaired the meeting. Items on the agenda included an update on the work of the Live Performance and Audio Visual Social Dialogue Committees, in particular the forthcoming seminar on Gender Equality featuring the joint audiovisual employer/ union Framework of Action, which took place in Brussels after the EuroFIA meeting on 25th November. A one day seminar focussing on mobility issues for European performers preceded the EuroFIA meeting on 13th November. Christine Payne, Louise McMullan and Malcolm Sinclair also represented Equity at this meeting. A further seminar on work life balance is scheduled for January 2014 and the next EuroFIA meeting is expected to take place in Greece, following the agreement of affiliates, including Equity UK, to fund such a meeting. Equity UK will continue to act as EuroFIA coordinator until 2014.

B. FIA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & ENGLISH SPEAKING GROUP The FIA Executive Committee met in New York on 26th and 27th June. The English Speaking Group met on 25th June, also in New York. Both meetings were attending by Malcolm Sinclair, Christine Payne and John Barclay (Head of Recorded Media). There was also a meeting of the staff of the ESG unions on Wednesday which John Barclay attended. Malcolm attended a meeting of the LGBT working group alongside the Executive meetings while Christine attended a meeting of the Presidium on Tuesday 25th June and presented the 2012 annual accounts to the Executive Committee. Equity also hosted a separate meeting between SAG-AFTRA, ACTRA and Irish Equity/SIPTU on film and television production in the Republic of Ireland. Throughout 2013 Equity UK and SIPTU continued to work jointly on this issue. Items which were discussed at the Executive meeting included the prospective World Live Performance Conference in 2015 and locations for the next FIA Congress in 2016. The next FIA Executive meeting is scheduled to take place in Paris in September 2014.

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CHAPTER 7:

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE BODIES A. AMNESTY

Equity continues to affiliate to Amnesty and is a member of the organisation’s Trade Union Network. Amnesty remains an essential source of information on human rights campaigns, activism and events for Equity’s own International Committee for Artists Freedom. Amnesty also hosted an away day for the Equity Council in December 2013.

B. BRITISH COPYRIGHT COUNCIL Equity continues to be a member of the BCC and works alongside BECS (British Equity Collecting Society) to lobby the UK Intellectual Property Office on matters relating to copyright and performers’ intellectual property rights. During 2013 this included lobbying on proposed changes to UK copyright law to enable private copying and a number of other new exceptions.

C. BRITISH EQUITY COLLECTING SOCIETY (BECS) Performer payments collected by BECS for film, television and radio performances reached £8.64 million in 2013. A further £2 million of royalties arising out of Equity’s agreements for TV, Cinema Films and West End cast album recordings were administered on behalf of the union. These amounts enabled BECS to issue a record 32,216 payments to performers during the year. One of the highlights of the year was receipt of the largest ever performers’ rights settlement. Over 8,000 BECS members received a share of the record £1 million from Spain as compensation for their work being shown on Spanish TV as well as being rented and copied by Spanish consumers and relayed in the country’s cinemas and hotels. BECS continued to work closely with European colleagues on a number of initiatives which may affect the way payments are secured from secondary use of work within the online environment. Changes to the scope of UK copyright exceptions also remained high on BECS’s lobbying agenda. At the end of 2013, the Board was composed of the following Directors: Jean Rogers (Chairwoman), Frederick Pyne (Vice-Chairman), Peter Barnes, Jo Cameron-Brown, Bryn Evans, Natasha Gerson, Graham Hamilton, Steve Kenis , Andy Prodger and Stephen Spence. Membership, payment and general enquiries can be addressed to becs@equity.org.uk or members can contact BECS on 020 7670 0360.

D. DANCE UK

Equity continues to support the work of Dance UK and gives financial support to the Healthier Dancer Programme. Caroline Miller remains as Director.

E. EQUITY CHARITABLE TRUST (FORMERLY EQUITY TRUST FUND) The Equity Charitable Trust is an independent charity, founded in 1989, whose aims are to help professional industry members who are in genuine need or who wish to retrain and requalify. The Trust assists professional actors and other performers who are experiencing financial hardship with one-off Welfare Grants. The Trust also provides Educational Bursaries to enable professional actors with a minimum of ten years professional adult experience to develop new skills and obtain valuable new qualifications. Please note that the Trust is unable to help musicians, drama students or amateur performers. In 2013, the Trust awarded 101 Welfare Grants totalling £93,328.82, 37 Education grants totalling £142,629, one scholarship to the School for Creative Startups totalling £4,000 and two professional development workshops totalling £1500. Each case is considered on its merits and are proportional to the individual need. We also have a Welfare Officer who can give advice on Benefits that one might be eligible for. The Trust also looks after two special trust funds, The John Fernald Award for assistant theatre directors, and The Evelyn Norris Trust, for convalescence and respite breaks for members and ex-members of the concert and theatrical profession.

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The registered offices are Plouviez House, 19 – 20 Hatton Place, London EC1N 8RU. Telephone Number: 0207 831 1926; Facsimile: 020 7242 799. Secretary: Kaethe Cherney; Debt/Welfare Advisor: Rosalind Ambrose Equity is entitled to nominate five Council representatives to the Trust’s Board and following an election the following members of the Equity Council were elected by and from the Council to serve on the Board for the current term of the Council (2012-2014): Michael Branwell, Peggy-Anne Fraser, Jo Cameron Brown, Bryn Evans and David Cockayne.

F. THE EVELYN NORRIS TRUST In 2013, the Evelyn Norris Trust awarded 49 grants totalling £34,302 to members and ex-members of the concert and theatrical profession. These grants were awarded for convalescent and respite holidays following illness or injury. Further grants of £1,850 were awarded to Brinsworth House and to Denville Hall.

G. EDUCATIONAL RECORDING AGENCY (ERA)

The ERA Licensing Scheme permits staff at educational establishments to record, for non-commercial educational purposes, radio and television broadcast output of ERA’s Members. A licence is required to use recordings of broadcasts as teaching resources. Most educational establishments in the UK are already covered by an ERA licence. This may be by individual licence or as part of a blanket licence agreement, but all licences are renewable annually. All members of ERA receive a share of these licences in proportion to the rights they represent. Equity’s share, as reported in the Annual Accounts, is use for the general benefit of the members. Equity is represented on the Board of ERA by Christine Payne. The members of ERA are: Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society Limited Association De Gestion Internationale Collective Des Oeuvres Audiovisuelles BBC Worldwide Limited BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited Channel Four Television Corporation Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited Compact Collections Limited Design and Artists Copyright Society Limited Directors UK Limited Equity FOCAL International Limited The Incorporated Society of Musicans ITV Network Limited Mechanical Copyright Protection Society Musicians’ Union Open University The Performing Right Society Limited Phonographic Performance Limited Radio Independents Group S4C

H. FEU (FEDERATION OF ENTERTAINMENT UNIONS) The member unions of the FEU (BECTU, Equity, Musicians Union, NUJ, PFA, Writers Guild of Great Britain and Unite) held 4 plenary meetings during 2013. Key areas of concern on the FEU’s agenda included: BBC: FEU unions, most notably BECTU, Equity and the NUJ worked together to coordinate political briefings in advance of a series of debates in parliament on the issues of BBC Governance and the future of the Corporation. Theatre and Arts Funding: Member unions continued to campaign on arts funding cuts together with PCS and Prospect through the Lost Arts campaign. During 2013 Lost Arts focussed on a social media strategy to engage

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MPs and educate them about arts funding losses in their constituencies. Lost Arts, PCS and FEU unions also coorganised a protest outside the National Gallery in September 2013 which used a human chain of activists to draw attention to arts cuts. Ofcom: The FEU held one meeting with Ofcom during 2013. Through this meeting Equity was able to further advance the Broadcasting in the Nations campaign and secured meetings with Ofcom officials to explore possible changes to the regional production definition. Other areas of discussion included local news provision and the relicensing of the ITV franchisees. Bullying in the Media: In November 2013 the FEU organised a conference on Bullying in the Media. This conference followed a survey which was conducted during the summer months among the respective union memberships on bullying, harassment and discrimination in the creative industries. There were 4104 respondents to the survey and the report, as well as the conference, received coverage in the Huffington Post and Evening Standard newspaper. The steering group which worked on the survey, report and conference continues to meet during 2014 to develop further ideas for action on this issue. Affiliations: During 2013 the FEU affiliated to new thinktank CLASS and re-affiliated to the UK Coalition for Cultural Diversity.

I. THE INTERNATIONAL PERFORMERS AID TRUST (IPAT) In the year ending in 2013, I am happy to be able to report that the Trust has continued throughout to provide help, support and hope to countless performers including members of the following companies:5Cs Theatre, Kenya Grassroots, Zimbabwe Music for Hope, El Salvador Kaliban Usina Teatro, Uruguay Reasmey Angkor Bassac Theatre Troupe, Cambodia Jos Theatre, Nigeria Music for Africa, South Africa Able Child Africa, Tanzania Anno’s Africa, Kenya Belarus Free Theatre Open Space Theatre, Chile AZ Theatre, Gaza Baghdad Fim School, Iraq Assistance for four individuals All of these activities fall within our Mission Statement: “The International Performers’ Aid Trust is a charity for the relief of poverty amongst people involved in the performing arts in distress in all parts of the world. IPAT’s decisions are made on professional and humanitarian principles, without political bias. The Trust will endeavour to supply such aid and encouragement as is appropriate, for the preservation of the life and health of those working in the performing arts suffering from poverty and distress to enable them to continue to develop and nurture the imaginative faculty which is the heart of drama, music and artistic performance.” The Trust is very grateful to the Combined Theatrical Charities who continue to support us and to those generous individuals and charities who support our work. We also rely on the hard and voluntary work of all our Trustees and our Secretary Liz Pfeuti. We look to the future with great optimism and, as long as I stay in the Chair, I intend that we shall light candles of hope all over the world, bringing light into darkness, enabling performers to continue to develop and nurture the imaginative faculty which is the heart of drama, music and artistic performance, to alleviate the suffering of those in need and, indeed, in some cases, save their lives. Michael Branwell, Chairman

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J. LIBERTY

Equity continues to affiliate to Liberty and its Trade Union Liaison Committee.

K. PERFORMERS’ ALLIANCE

During 2013 Equity, the Musicians Union and the Writers Guild of Great Britain continued to meet quarterly and coordinate joint work on matters of common interest. The Alliance also liaised closely with the Federation of Entertainment Unions and the TUC. The core issues of concern to the Performers Alliance during the year were the impact of cuts to arts funding nationally and at local authority level, negotiations with employers, changes to the National Insurance status of entertainers and Government proposals to enable exceptions to copyright law. The Performers Alliance Parliamentary Group became the Performers Alliance All Party Parliamentary Group at the start of 2013. The Performers Alliance unions decided to trial APPG status as the PAPG had benefitted from representation from all the major political parties at Westminster and could therefore meet the criteria necessary for APPG registration. Following the AGM in early 2013 Kerry McCarthy MP was re-elected Chair of the Performers Alliance APPG. Michael Connarty MP, Lord Clement-Jones and John Whittingdale MP continue as Vice Chairs and Pete Wishart MP is now Secretary. Following the efforts of the MU and Equity to recruit new MPs and Peers, membership of the Group has grown considerably since the 2010 election and at the end of 2013 stood at just over 70. The Group was very active during 2013 with members raising the unions’ views during parliamentary debates and Departmental Questions on copyright, the National Minimum Wage, the BBC and arts funding. In December the Group hosted another very successful Christmas reception. Around 20 high profile members of Equity attended this event, along with a number of Equity staff members. 75 MPs and Peers were also in attendance throughout the reception, which launched a report from the Group, written by Equity and the Musicians Union, entitled Work Not Play: The rise of low and no pay work in the entertainment industries.

L. PPL PPL PPL issues licences to hundreds of thousands of businesses and organisations from all sectors across the UK playing recorded music and/or music videos in public. These can range from bars, nightclubs, shops and hotels to offices, factories, gyms, schools, universities and local authorities. PPL also licenses music suppliers to copy recorded music for services such as in-store music systems, jukeboxes, compilations for exercise classes and inflight entertainment systems. PPL also licenses TV and radio broadcasters to play recorded music as part of their programming, from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky to commercial radio networks such as Capital, Heart and Absolute Radio, as well as online services. PPL does not retain a profit for its services. Revenue collected, after administration costs, is passed onto its registered members: thousands of performers and record companies who receive the royalties they deserve for their recorded music. PPL members range from session musicians and emerging artists to major record labels and globally successful performers – all of whom are entitled to be fairly paid for the use of their recorded music. Through agreements with over 50 music licensing companies around the world, PPL is also able to collect royalties for its members globally. PPL is one of several collection societies in the UK that manage the rights and licence different types of copyrighted material. PPL licenses the use of recorded music while others exist to manage rights in musical compositions, newspaper extracts, etc. Each of these organisations enable the user of these materials to obtain a licence, so both users and copyright owners can benefit from increased efficiency. During 2013 the General Secretary has continued to represent Equity on the PPL Board and Performer Board.

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M. SECTOR SKILLS COUNCIL

i. Creative Skillset (www.creativeskillset.org) Creative Skillset is the industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses in the audiovisual industries to ensure the UK creative media industries maintain their world class position. The Federation of Entertainment Unions nominated the General Secretary to represent the unions’ interests on Creative Skillset’s Board. ii. Cultural &Creative Skills – CC Skills (www.ccskills.org.uk) Creative & Cultural skills is the industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses in the advertising, craft, cultural heritage, design, literature, music, performing and visual arts industry sectors. Brian Kelly (BECTU) served as the Federation of Entertainment Unions’ representative on the Board.

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NEW TUC PRESIDENT – Mohammed Taj (Unite) TUC GENERAL SECRETARY – This was the first TUC Congress for new TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady. This year both the TUC General Secretary and TUC Congress President (Lesley Mercer) were women. SPEAKERS – included Leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband, Toni Pearce (NUS President), Harriet Yeo (sororal delegate from the Labour Party), Baroness (Doreen) Lawrence and Amirul Haque Amir, President of the Bangladesh Federation of Garment Workers. FRINGE – Christine Payne spoke at a Unions 21 fringe meeting on fair pay alongside Liam Byrne MP, Accord General Secretary Ged Nichols and TUC economist Nicola Smith. Christine used this opportunity to talk about low pay/no pay issues for Equity members, our recent Employment Tribunal successes and the continuing need to organise to get better pay outcomes for workers. Sally Treble also asked Liam Byrne a question about the cuts to BBC Birmingham (his constituency is in the city) during the meeting. GENERAL COUNCIL DINNER – Malcolm Sinclair and Christine Payne attended on behalf of Equity.

N. TRADES UNION CONGRESS The delegation to the 2013 TUC Congress comprised: Christine Payne (General Secretary), Malcolm Sinclair (President), Natasha Gerson (Vice President), Di Christian, Sally Treble and Louise McMullan. Martin Brown also attended on the 10th and 11th September. MOTIONS: The delegation spoke as follows (the relevant Motions and speeches given by the delegation are included below): Malcolm proposed Equity’s motion on My Theatre Matters which was part of a Composite Motion on Arts Funding (seconded by BECTU). Christine spoke in support of the NUJ’s motion on Workplace Culture Sally Seconded BECTU’s motion on the National Minimum Wage Natasha seconded a Composite Motion on social security which incorporated Equity’s motion on Universal Credit (the Public and Commercial Services Union proposed the motion). Di Christian seconded the Musicians’ Union motion on Freedom of Musical Expression. Other motions passed by Congress included a resolution by the Musicians Union on the new private copying exception to copyright and a number of motions denouncing austerity policies and calling for the TUC to undertake further campaigning action. The most contentious motion on the agenda was submitted by the RMT calling for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. Congress opposed the motion but approved a General Council statement on this issue. There were a number of emergency motions on issues including the recent North Sea Helicopter disasters and the imprisonment of Colombian trade unionist Huber Ballesteros (who had been due to address Congress but instead sent a video message from his prison cell). The latter motion called on the General Council to campaign for Mr Ballesteros’ release following his detention on false charges of rebellion and financing terrorism. The motion also called on unions to support the work of Colombian trade unions and to continue to support the work of Justice for Colombia. Justice for Colombia is a UK based NGO, established in 2002 by UK unions, that campaigns for human rights, workers’ rights and the search for peace with social justice in Colombia. Following TUC Congress, the Equity Council agreed that Equity would affiliate to Justice for Colombia. TUC GENERAL COUNCIL elections: The following were elected to the General Council from Section C: Manuel Cortes (TSSA), Mark Dickinson (Nautilus International), Ged Nichols (Accord), Dave Penman (FDA), Tim Poil (Nationwide Group Staff Union), Eddie Saville (Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association) and Simon Weller (ASLEF). The following were elected to Section D (Women from unions with fewer than 200,000 members): Joanna Brown (CSP), Sue Ferns (Prospect), Sue Mather (Community) & Niamb Sweeny (ATL). Christine Payne was automatically elected to the GC as Equity has over 30,000 members.

FEU RECEPTION – The Federation of Entertainment Unions sponsored a live music reception for all TUC delegates on the evening of 10th September in the conference venue. Motions Composite Motion 5 – Arts Funding (incorporating Motions 12 and 13 from Equity and BECTU) Congress notes the funding crisis facing local theatres in the UK. This crisis is primarily due to reductions in Arts Council funding and local authority budgets as a result of the government’s failing austerity agenda. Congress believes that the arts industry plays an important role in the UK, both culturally and economically, and notes with alarm the devastating reduction in financial support for the sector since the financial crisis began. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will see a 26 per cent real reduction in budget by 2015; 41 per cent of arts fundraisers have reported that business sponsors plan to reduce their donations; and local authorities, traditionally major supporters of the arts, face cuts of up to 50 per cent in central government grants by 2018. Congress further notes that cities such as Sheffield and Newcastle, where the arts and culture has been central to regeneration, have been forced to cut huge sums from their arts budgets, while local authorities in Westminster and Somerset have opted to end all funding for the arts and culture. In Westminster the arts spend was just £350k, 0.04 per cent of the Council’s total budget. Under extreme pressure, most councils have reviewed their arts expenditure, all of which is discretionary, resulting invariably in cuts, sometimes to zero. Taken with reductions in other funding, for example a 30 per cent cut in grants from Arts Council of England, the existence of hundreds of arts organisations is threatened. Arts activities contribute to their local areas by enriching the lives of citizens, encouraging social inclusion, supporting learning and achievement, and developing a visitor economy. The arts also boost local economies as a whole, and a survey by Arts Development UK, revealed that for every £1 of local authority arts expenditure, a further £3.83 was raised in alternative funding, with most of it being spent locally. Another study in Newcastle showed a benefit six times greater than the level of public subsidy. Congress believes that cuts to local theatres are damaging and short sighted and supports the work of the My Theatre Matters! Campaign, which brings together local communities, audiences, theatres, performers and creative workers to lobby local and central government about the importance of supporting local arts provision. Recognising the crisis in arts funding, particularly in council grants, Congress call for local authority support for the arts to be a statutory obligation throughout the UK. Mover: Equity Seconder: BECTU

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Motion 68 Workplace culture Congress notes that the unacceptable extent of harassment and bullying in press newsrooms came to the fore during the Leveson inquiry and regrets that there is still no change in the system of regulating the press. Congress welcomes the proposal in both royal charters to include a hotline for journalists pressured into behaving unethically but regrets that Leveson’s recommendation for a conscience clause, endorsed at TUC 2012, is included in neither royal charter after strong opposition by the publishers. Journalists working collectively through their union can fight for better standards of journalism by developing a workplace where fear is not used to oblige them to behave unethically. Congress is appalled that the bullying and harassment of media workers extends far beyond the national press to broadcasting, as the NUJ’s submission to the Rose Review on bullying and harassment at the BBC revealed. The subsequent report demonstrated bullying and harassment on an institutionalised scale at our public service broadcaster. Congress believes that strong trade unionism in every workplace is the best defence against bullying at work and is a safeguard to counter the often health-threatening stress levels. That is why the NUJ and sister unions in the Federation of Entertainment Unions have launched a major campaign to highlight the scale of the problem and the aim of eradicating bullying in the creative industries. Congress calls on the TUC in all its campaigns to back such anti-bullying initiatives and work to promote the essential role of trade unionism in workplace culture. Mover: National Union of Journalists Seconded and amended by the University and Colleges Union Speech in Support: Equity Motion 23 National Minimum Wage Congress notes with concern the growing practice of employers offering unpaid opportunities of work, often to young and vulnerable workers who are trying to break into the world of employment. Although some of these placements, commonly described as ‘work experience’, ‘intern’, or ‘volunteer’ positions, are a genuine opportunity for new entrants to the workforce to gain skills and experience that may improve their employability, they are more often just a blatant abuse aimed at securing the services of workers for nothing. These unpaid positions appear across the economy, including the film and TV production sector, where a BECTU survey of young workers revealed that 33 per cent of respondents had undertaken more than 10 unpaid assignments since entering the industry. Far from giving them a quick route to employment, the vast majority of respondents felt that unpaid work was a hindrance to their careers, and 95 per cent agreed that employers should be obliged to pay the national minimum wage (NMW). Despite the activities of HMRC’s enforcement unit, and the success of unions pursuing, through employment tribunals, employers who fail to pay the NMW, unpaid work opportunities abound on internet job sites. Congress therefore calls on the General Council to campaign for: i a change in the regulations to ensure that all advertisements offering positions at rates below the NMW are treated as a prima facie breaches of the law ii a policy for automatic public ‘naming and shaming’ of any employer in breach of the NMW. Mover: BECTU Seconder: Equity Composite 13 Campaigning for social security (incorporating Motions 47 from PCS and 48 from Equity plus amendments) Congress notes that coalition social security policies have resulted in an extra million people living in poverty, homelessness up 14 per cent in the last year, rough sleeping up 31 per cent in the last two years, and 500,000 people now relying on food banks. Congress notes that the minimum wage will again rise below the rate of inflation in October, and that millions of

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public and private sector workers have been subject to below inflation pay rises for several years. Congress further notes that UK state benefits and pensions are among the lowest in the developed world, and leave many in poverty and despair, and at the mercy of payday loan companies. Congress condemns the Westminster consensus which has perpetuated the myth that benefits spending requires capping, that has abandoned universal benefits, and which demonises ‘scroungers’. Congress believes that social security is an important trade union issue for our members and their families, whether in work or out of work, and that as a movement we must do more to defend the welfare state. Congress believes the Universal Credit system, due to be introduced in the UK in October 2013, will have a devastating effect on the lives of many members of trade unions, such as Equity and other entertainment unions, where those members are fully self-employed and surviving on a low income. These welfare reforms will also mean that those members who are assumed to have a minimum income floor (MIF) may find the help they can get with their housing costs (rent or mortgage interest) is very limited, leading to an increased risk of homelessness or repossessions. Congress condemns the reforms which will remove access to certain benefits from striking workers and reduce benefit entitlement of dependents of strikers. Congress urges the General Council to campaign against this unfair system and seek its replacement with a more workable and equitable system. Congress instructs the General Council to: i actively challenge and debunk welfare myths from politicians and in the media ii actively campaign for: a) repeal of the bedroom tax and the benefit cap b) the defence of universal benefits c) decent, liveable benefit levels d) abolition of workfare schemes e) scrapping the Work Capability Assessment f) removal of the sanctions regime g) a publicly run welfare system h) a mass council house building scheme. Mover: Public and Commercial Services Union Seconder: Equity Motion 79 Freedom of Musical Expression In 2012, there were 173 attacks worldwide on musicians as a result of their work. The cases included six artists being killed, 14 imprisoned, two abducted, 12 attacked, five threatened, 16 prosecuted and 84 detained, as well as 34 cases of state censorship. Last year also saw three members of the punk-rock collective, Pussy Riot, incarcerated for “hooliganism” following their protest performance at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. They have been described as political prisoners by the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, and Amnesty International called the conviction “a bitter blow for freedom of expression”. Freemuse is an independent international organisation which advocates freedom of expression for artists worldwide. Its objectives are to: i document violations and discuss their effects on music life ii inform media, human rights organisations and the public iii support musicians in need and observe at their trials iv develop a global network in support of threatened musicians and composers. Congress calls on the General Council to help promote Freemuse and to support freedom of musical expression worldwide. Mover: Musicians’ Union Seconder: Equity

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O. BAPAM

BAPAM (the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine, www.bapam.org.uk) is a unique health charity, which is part funded by Equity. This means that members and student members with any performance-related health problem are entitled to help from BAPAM which provides FREE and confidential assessment clinics with GPs who have specialist understanding of performers’ needs, and referrals to the best treatment available. The types of issues that BAPAM help with include RSI and other muscle strain, back pain, voice problems, tinnitus, depression, stage fright and a host of other injuries and medical problems. They are also a source of advice on injury prevention and have a network of practitioners who have an interest in treating performing artists. The unions’ representative on the Board is Natasha Gerson (Equity Councillor and Vice President).

P. CDET Equity continued to support the work of the CDET which is continuing to flourish under the new Director Glydwr Jones. CDET continued the work of accrediting vocational dance and musical theatre schools and attracted new schools. At the end of February 2013 CDET’s membership comprised 24 Accredited Schools, 12 Validated Awarding Organisations, 5 institutions in Application for Membership status and 4 corporate members. CDET is in the process of introducing an Affiliate membership category to help organisations proceed and progress to Accredited or Validated status over time. Liaising with the Department for Education CDET has facilitated negotiations on changes to the present funding arrangements for the DADA awards on behalf of the Accredited schools and has established a website to assist students seeking information about DADA funding. CDET established a prominent “village” at the Move It conference bringing many of the Awarding Organisations together with partners in the dance industry, working collectively to promote high standards and values in dance and musical theatre performance and teaching. Spotlight sponsored the 2013 UK Guide to professional education and training, whilst the CDET website continued to be a prime source of relevant information on high quality education, assessment and training in dance and musical theatre. Equity Vice President Natasha Gerson continues to be involved in the accreditation process with CDET.

Q. DRAMA UK

Drama UK, formed from the merger of NCDT and the CDS, commenced work. Drama UK created a logo and strapline, and a new Drama UK website is launched averaged 10,000 visitors each month. A new full time Operating Officer is appointed and a part time Quality Assurance Officer. Julian Bird, Chief Executive of SOLT/UK Theatre is appointed as Chair of the new Board which included reps from the industry and training providers, with Board places for Scotland and Wales as well as a Principal’s forum for Drama UK member schools and a Quality Assurance Board. During 2013 a new quality assurance mark is launched and the first Recognition visits in Higher Education take place supported by Creative Skillset and in Further Education supported by CCSkills. The first round of graduate destinations statistics are announced as part of an on-going Drama UK research project. Drama UK begins a programme of advocacy work including involvement in campaigns and hosting two industry events around employment for graduates. The existing Accreditation criteria are reviewed and developed and new School Accreditation is launched and a full list of accredited schools are confirmed. Drama UK Board consists of: Julian Bird, CEO of the Society of London Theatres & UK Theatre – Chair Rob Swain (Chair of Drama UK QA board) Course Leader Birkbeck MFA in Directing Paul Clay, Exec Director - Manchester International Festival, Pauline Tambling, Joint CEO Creative and Cultural Skills Jane Harrison, Principal, Arts Educational Schools Mark Featherstone-Witty, founding CEO and Principal, LIPA Hilary Hadley, Head of Live Performance, Equity Maggie Kinlock Chair Scottish Drama Training Network and Vice Prinicpal Conservetoire Scotland Jonathan Needlands – Associate Dean Warwick Business School and Professor of Drama and Theatre Education, University of Warwick Sue Nott, Executive Producer Independents, CBBC Drama, BBC

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Kate O’Connor, Executive Director - Policy and Development, Deputy CEO, Creative Skillset Stephen Simms, Principal, Birmingham School of Acting Conrad Lynch – Artistic Director Wales Millennium Centre Chief Executive, Ian Kellgren On the Quality Assurance Board are Equity members Malcolm Sinclair – President and Mercy Ojelade

R. JUSTICE FOR COLOMBIA The Equity Council made a decision to affiliate to the Justice for Colombia campaign in 2013. Justice for Colombia is a UK based NGO, established in 2002 by UK unions, that campaigns for human rights, workers’ rights and the search for peace with social justice in Colombia. Colombia remains the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist. Extra judicial executions of trade unionists are common and there are hundreds of activists, including Huber Ballesteros, currently in prison throughout the country.

CHAPTER 8:

COUNCIL A. MEETINGS The Equity Council met 10 times between 1st January and 31st December 2013.

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CHAPTER 9:

APPEALS AND STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEES

The following members were elected in July 2012 to serve as members of the Appeals Committee for two years: Joan Blackham, Lynn Farleigh, Doreen Mantle, Graham Padden, Jeffry Wickham. The Appeals Committee met once during 2013. Graham Padden was elected Chair for the period 2012-2014. The following members were elected by the membership to serve on the Standing Orders Committee: Sylvia Alexander-Vine, John Carnegie, Robert Mill, Graham Padden and Geremy Phillips; and the following members were elected by the Council to serve on the Standing Orders Committee: Ian Barritt, Laurence Bouvard, Nicky Diprose and Julia Carson Sims. Sylvia Alexander-Vine resigned from the Committee in February 2014 and as there was no unsuccessful candidate in the election to fill the vacancy, in accordance with Rule 26.3, the vacancy remained unfilled. The Standing Orders Committee met three times during 2013. Graham Padden was elected Chair and Ian Barritt Vice-Chair for the period 2012-2014.

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CHAPTER 10:

NATIONAL, AREA, INDUSTRIAL & SPECIALIST COMMITTEES A. NATIONAL COMMITTEES

i. Northern Ireland

CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS

I have been Chair of your National Committee for some ten years now and in that time I have seen a steady progression and acceptance that the Arts and the Cultural Industries is at last being recognised for its economic potential. The success of our fledgling Film and Television Industry is now a worldwide phenomenon largely brought about by a combination of our Industry bodies and Political guile from some of our more aware politicians. Also I may add to the campaigning work that you and the Union has also done. It was with great jubilation then to hear the news that Northern Ireland is to get a further two new production studios built, which can only add to the momentum that seems to be happening in that Industry. How different to that picture was the recent pronouncement from Newtownabbey District Council Arts Board to ban the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s production of “The Bible”. It brought us back to the dark days when tolerance and freedom of expression was given at the behest of the intolerant and the ignorant. Censorship is the hall mark of a closed society and is the opposite of a Civil Society I am proud that the Artistic community and Equity in Northern Ireland quickly stood up for Artistic freedom that led to the decision to overturn that ban. A victory for common sense indeed but what impressed me most was the speed of the collective response by all. In no small part was that due to the speed of social networking sites and Facebook in particular. Modern solutions for modern times. In terms of Facebook it’s great that we have our own Equity Northern Ireland Committee site set up by Stephen Beggs and Shaun Blaney. It’s great to see that we in the Union movement can utilise, what I thought was fanciful and trite, to campaign and mobilise. Old dogs can indeed learn new tricks and committees are the better for having a blend of both age and gender which makes me feel that the Union here is in good hands! STAFF REPORT

We have continued to campaign for more Film and Television production to be made locally and we believe that has shown some success in the increase, particularly by the BBC to have more productions filmed entirely in Northern Ireland. We also managed to get the issue into the National Press both here and in the Republic. However there is still a tendency to cast primarily outside of Northern Ireland. In response to that we met with Ofcom in London to discuss with them changing the definition of local production. The General Branch and the Committee also lobbied UTV and Ofcom in respect of the lack of drama production which has been a feature of UTV for many years. The general Branch is now established and meetings are well attended. Much of this is to do with Carol Moore the Secretary who has organised a series of speakers which make the meetings more interesting. We also have to thank the Chair Adam Knight for getting us the use of the Opera House for the meetings and we have sent a letter of thanks to the Chief Executive. Adam has recently intimated his resignation from the Branch as he is leaving Northern Ireland to work in Scotland. Let’s wish him well in that move. Unfortunately our application to the Creative Industries Fund to help set up a new Agency in Belfast was turned down. That was disappointing particularly in the light of Actors First giving notice that it will cease to trade at the end of June. However it was good news that Philip Young established a new Agency called the Independent Agency, I.a., and we assisted in that process. It was also a credit to Philip that one of his terms is that as an actor you have to keep your Equity subs up to date. In January we had 26 people attend a workshop given by Max Beckmann, on the changes to the Social and Welfare benefits system and National Insurance for members working in Theatre and Film and Television. It was really informative and Max commented that it was the best attended workshop she had done on the topic! A big thanks to those members of the Committee who walked in the rain in support of the ICTU Peace and against Austerity March and Alan McKee is now on ICTU Global Solidarity which continues our close links with Congress. A motion on censorship is going to the NI-ICTU Congress. Louis Rolston the NI Councillor is part of a working group set up to assist Irish Equity in its attempts to get proper contracts used in F&TV Production in the Republic and the BBC has agreed that it will commission Independent producers on the basis that they use the PACT Agreement. INDUSTRIAL REPORT

In line with the other National Areas we have continued with the campaign for greater Television Production

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under the banner of “Make it Here, We’ll Make It Everywhere”. It has galvanised the membership and we have had postcard campaigns, petitions, and members writing direct to politicians of all parties as well as meetings with politicians at Stormont and at Westminster. We have also met with the Broadcasters at both a Northern Ireland Level as well as a UK Level. Similarly we have taken the argument to OFCOM both within Northern Ireland and at a UK Level. The support we have had has been fantastic from Politicians, Northern Ireland Screen and our colleagues in the wider trade union movement and the general public. It has also generated debate in both Local and National Press. We believe that the campaign has resulted in an upsurge of drama production and commissions, particularly by the BBC, who has been harangued from all of the above. Over the last year or so The BBC has commissioned “The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickelby” and the much lauded “The Fall”. The second series is starting up at the end of February and we have already been in touch with the producers. Similarly filming of Line of Duty (2) has just been broadcast and it was entirely filmed in NI after the first series was filmed entirely in England. The BBC and CBBC has also brought to Northern Ireland “Blanding’s” and “Dani’s Castle” which were produced in England. Whilst we don’t have as many members cast in these productions as we would like it has had a positive impact on providing members jobs. Similarly the BBC has re-commissioned Stirling Television to produce another “Scup” the Irish Gaelic series and most of the cast are from here. We have visited the production and agreed minimum rates in line with the PACT Agreement. Game of Thrones continues to be the big success story and more and more local actors are being employed and it has become a worldwide phenomenon. Film Production and the use of The Paint Shop Studio continues to grow and we have been on the set of “My Robot Overlord” and “Dracula” two major Films produced entirely in Northern Ireland over the summer. The news about the two new studios will only add to this and we hope that we will become the hub for both Film and TV production for the whole of Ireland, particularly when the new tax breaks kick in for high end television production. In saying this let’s hope that after his first short film Trespass being selected for the Belfast Film Festival in 2014, Shaun Blaney will be producing in the new studios. Possibly also alongside Paul Kennedy, whose KGB Films production of Made in Belfast won best foreign film Flagler Festival in Florida last month? In theatre we campaigned alongside the Northern Ireland Theatre Association prior to this year’s Arts budget being set and no professional theatre companies were axed. This is in stark contrast to what is happening in England. However in the light of the My Theatre Matters campaign we will be writing to Belfast Council thanking them for their support of the Arts. Our local agreement with the Lyric is still bedding in but only this week we have agreed a new pay increase for Stage Management and we now have all stage manager staff signed up as members. Despite some changes the Lyric still features high up in the Irish Theatre awards and we hope that will continue. Similarly we met the new “Executive Director” Jimmy Fay this week, and his official start date is the first of May. We were delighted that he is an Artistic Director and not recruited from a purely management background, currently his production of The Risen is on at the Abbey in Dublin. He wants to continue the increase in production and with the use of local talent and will be meeting with us to discuss how we can work together. We also agreed that the rates for Actors would also increase on the back of both the changes to National Insurance and the imminent increase in the Sub Rep agreement. Elsewhere in Theatre the Independent sector has also been buoyant? Kabosh continue to punch above their weight after twenty years and their Belfast by Moonlight at the Queens festival was hailed as best production. There has been extensive touring by Big Telly, Bruiser and Prime Cut and GBL Productions and Tinderbox continues to produce and experiment with new work. We have also worked with and advised Brassneck, C21 and other new Companies which have invigorated the sector. We were involved in discussions over actor’s wages at the Playhouse in Derry during its year of Culture and we hope that the legacy fund will assist practitioners and companies going forward. Let’s face it Theatre does matter! In the Variety and Circus sector there is still a difficulty in the diminishing availability of work for members partly as a result of the demise of the traditional club and cabaret venue and the changing nature of entertainment tastes. However we still continue to respond to the claims that come in on behalf of members. We have also been working closely with the NI Clown Doctors who have been under pressure to give more for less which seems a feature of the caring sector. Finally none of the campaigning work would have happened without the unstinting work of all the committees and members who have responded quickly as the situation demands and for that we want to thank you all. MEMBERS OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND COMMITTEE

Al Logan – Chair, Christina Nelson- Vice Chair, Frankie McCafferty, Sheelagh O’Kane, Alan McKee, Tara Lynne O’Neil Stephen Beggs, Shaun Blaney, Naomi Rocks, Louis Rolston – NI Councillor, Jimmy Doran-stood down in June 2013 Sarah McKeever-stood down in June 2013

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ii. Scotland

STAFF REPORT

The Make it in Scotland campaign occupied members and staff for most of 2013. Although more is being made in Scotland it is now obvious that we need to maintain the pressure on the broadcasters and programme makers and this will be a constant thread running through our work from now on. Elsewhere, Janet Archer was appointed the new Chief Executive of Creative Scotland replacing the inevitable resignation of Andrew Dixon. By the end of 2013 Creative Scotland had produced their new corporate plan which was tentatively welcomed by the sector. Until Creative Scotland start enacting their new plan it will be hard to comment positively or negatively but everybody in the arts in Scotland is hoping that the worst is now over. The early part of 2013 saw the end of the old style Scottish Committee. Michael Mackenzie announced his intention to resign from the committee after decades of service and was honoured with Life Membership at the Union’s Annual Representative Conference in London in May. In the summer the new style committees were elected. The new structure gives the National committees a much greater prominence within Equity. Priorities for 2013-2015 At its first meeting, the newly elected Scottish Committee is obliged to consider its priorities for the two years of its life. The committee met on 9th September. The biggest event in Scotland over the coming two years will undoubtedly be the referendum on Scottish Independence. Equity is strictly non party political but the referendum could have huge consequences for Equity members North of the border. The committee recognised that, given our constitution, it should not take sides in the referendum– all Equity members in Scotland are entitled to their own views on the referendum– but the committee has an obligation to make the positive case for what it believes to be Equity members best interests and that all statements should be ‘referendum neutral’; ie they should make sense no matter what outcome. There was a strong view that, no matter what the outcome, the constitution of the UK would be changed as a result of the referendum process. Areas the committee identified were the future of Creative Scotland and the importance of its independence from Government (the arm’s length principal); the future of broadcasting post referendum and the importance of being prepared to fight to maintain a single labour market with common terms and conditions and rates of pay. None of this will be easy but if we don’t speak up for our own interests, why would we expect anybody else to? As far as broadcasting is concerned, the politicians are primarily concerned with news and current affairs (ie the programmes they appear on!) and we have a duty to widen the debate. to include our concerns. The committee agreed four priorities for the next two years. 1.To fight vigorously for the rights and prospects of Equity members in Scotland during and after the referendum debate. 2.To promote and develop the Make it in Scotland Campaign 3.To continue to monitor the development of Creative Scotland. 4.To support and promote the Women in Theatre Initiative The Independence Referendum Broadcasting At it’s October meeting the Scottish Committee discussed how the Independence referendum would affect Equity members working lives. As Equity is a non politically aligned trade union, the Committee are not in a position to support any party line. The obvious area of concern for Equity is Broadcasting where the two sides of the debate have strongly contrasting ideas. The committee sought to advocate a position that we can argue for before the referendum and, irrespective of the result, we can continue to argue for afterwards. The debate about broadcasting has, thus far, centred on news and current affairs. Equity members areas of concern are mostly in drama, children’s programmes and light entertainment. Television exports from the UK amounted to £1.22bn in 2012 showing the importance of television production to the wider economy. The committee felt it was important that Equity articulated the importance of maintaining production capacity in Scotland to ensure jobs for members in the future. This should include consideration of studio capacity. The

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committee also recognised the importance of getting the work of members in Scotland to the widest possible audience. The committee recognised that the BBC is a world class organisation and is the biggest employer of Equity members. However the BBC has been under ideological attack from the last 3 UK Governments and that it needed to be protected from such partisan interference. It was also widely documented that the BBC is very London centric. The committee recognised the potential benefit of creating a national broadcaster for Scotland, supported by Scottish government funds but were sceptical about some of the ideas currently being suggested. In summary the committee are calling for: • The creation of a national broadcaster for Scotland by open competition • A fairer BBC with production spend in Scotland proportionate to population • To make the BBC more accountable to the people of Scotland • Investment in the production capacity of Scotland This position was supported by the Equity Council. Live Matters Looking elsewhere to see what impact the referendum may have it becomes clear that many matters (such as for example licensing) have had distinct arrangements in Scotland due to the differences between Scottish and English law. These will continue after the referendum irrespective of the result. Government funding of the live arts was devolved years ago and although it is currently encouraging to see the way the present Scottish Government has embraced this responsibility, there is no suggestion from either side that the mechanisms for this funding will change after the referendum. Thus we can see that much of the work of Equity members in the Theatre or in Variety will be largely unchanged after the referendum. Neither side of the referendum debate has identified any concrete proposals for changes to employment law or rights. Any changes in these areas will need to be monitored and scrutinized if and when they happen. A similar situation exists with State benefits although big changes are imminent across the UK. Another important activity, but with a lower profile, was our involvement in the Culture Counts campaign. Culture Counts is an informal alliance of organisations and individuals who work in the cultural sector in Scotland. It was created to influence politicians in the run up to the 2007 Scottish Election. Equity continues to be closely involved in this organisation in the run up to the 2014 Referendum and the 2015 and 2016 UK National and Scottish General elections. Scottish Committee

2011/2013 Andrew Brodie-Frew, Jim Byars, Alicia Devine, Natasha Gerson (Vice Chair), Isabella Jarrett (Vice Chair), Clunie Mackenzie, Michael Mackenzie (Chair), Kate McCall, Sheena Penson, Ian Petrie, William Riddoch, Linda Rifkind, Pab Roberts, John A Sampson 2013/15 Andrew Brodie-Frew, Morna Burdon (from September 2013), John Carnegie (resigned September 2013), Tom Freeman, Natasha Gerson, Clunie Mackenzie (Chair), Kate McCall, Kirstin McLean, Sheena Penson, Ian Petrie, William Riddoch, Pab Roberts (Vice Chair), John A Sampson

III. WALES General The Annual General Meeting of members was held in the main hall at Transport House in February and attended by 32 members. It was also attended by General Secretary Christine Payne who spoke with regards to the change in committee and council structure following the Referendum at the end of 2012. The Honorary Treasurer Bryn Evans spoke about the financial health of the union and the recent defamation case. One motion was approved by the meeting to go the Annual Representative Conference on the necessity of having the Equity diary when people were organising their lives on tablets and smartphones. Two further motions were put directly to council from the meeting – one with regards to a feasibility study for an Old People’s Home for members in Wales, and one with regards to Royalties and Residual payments.

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During the course of 2013 there were three newsletters, produced from the office, which included a new format. As in previous years the continued ability to email members throughout the year using the membership database system has meant that more targeted mailings continued to be sent out and news can instantly be disseminated to members without the need to wait for a newsletter. Whilst Membership figures for the whole of Equity have shown a rise during 2013 membership figures in Wales have shown a slight drop. It is difficult to identify an exact cause but we do know that there have been a large number of members who have left the industry and resigned their membership, added to which there does seem to be a large number of members moving away permanently from the area for work. On a positive note the level of recruitment has been quite extensive this year with a large number of members joining or rejoining the union. In all there are a total of 1,400 members in Wales, dropping by 18 from 2012, representing a 3.67% share of the total membership of Equity. Recruitment and Retention continue to be our main focus for 2014. Julia Carson Sims has continued to serve as the Councillor for Wales on The Equity Council. LIVE PERFORMANCE Despite the onward affects of the investment review and the shrinking of budgets from the Arts Council of Wales, companies throughout Wales continue to put on challenging and exciting work. A great example of this is that 30 productions from Wales played the Edinburgh Festival funded by the ACW – all the productions were well received and there is a hope that this initiative will continue next year. Having re-opened its doors in 2012, Sherman Cymru faced a tricky and challenging year. Cardiff Council cut some of its funding for 2013 and then announced a complete cut of funding from April 2014. This is a significant amount of money and Equity continues to closely monitor the situation whilst the theatre works through their options. They also had to find a new artistic director during this time and the company announced the appointment of Rachel O’Riordan, who comes to Cardiff from the Perth Theatre in Scotland. National Dance Company Wales enjoyed great critical acclaim during 2013 but behind the scenes their co-founders/joint artistic directors both stood down during the course of the year. The National Organiser has been in conversation with both the Chair of the Board and also the Deputy Director to discuss how Equity can develop their relationship with the company going forward. Welsh National Opera The impact of the funding cuts has been seen in a redundancy programme across the company, although thankfully not affecting the Chorus or Stage Management Departments at this time. Wage reviews continue to be well below RPI and also seek further revisions of terms and conditions alongside a media provision in exchange for no money. The latest round of negotiations for the contract beginning September 2013 has yet to be finalised. We already know that WNO will only be offering 1% in 2013 and 1% in 2014. The Stage Management made their claim in early 2013 but have yet to settle as WNO continually leave weeks between communications. The Chorus made their claim in December 2013 after much discussion and meetings are due to start in early 2014. The company also entered into a consultation to look at reductions in contributions to pensions for new staff in light of the impending auto-enrolment – something fiercely resisted by Equity on behalf of both departments. Despite a deadline of December 2013 the company are yet to respond. Whilst the HMRC review of Subsistence was a success for the company there seems to be continued efforts by WNO to reduce expenditure in this area, again something being resisted by Equity. In Variety the number of venues hosting live performance has shrunk considerably and we continue to see venues continue to close. We continue to support our members who have been cancelled at the last minute and whilst the number of cases this year has not risen dramatically it continues to hold at

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a high level. The total amount recovered for members in the year was £7,141.06. This represented the successful conclusion of nineteen separate claims. RECORDED MEDIA BBC The ‘Drama Village’ at Roath Lock has now been in operation for two years. There are predominantly three studio complexes with Pobol y Cwm and Casualty in permanent residence in two throughout the year. The remaining space houses Doctor Who and generally Wizards v Aliens for CBBC. On general terms there are some ‘thermal comfort’ issues on the permanent outside sets but in conjunction with the BBC in London and the BBC Organiser we have managed to broker a satisfactory working pattern. Pobol y Cwm: There continues to be ongoing discussions about a new contract, but the framework document between the BBC and S4C regarding the programme is still to be finalised. At present the cast contracts are being extended on a three month basis whilst we await a firm proposal from the BBC about the future. The cast are not too concerned as they like their current contracts and are suspicious of the intentions of the new proposals, but without anything concrete on the table there is very little to speculate on. Casualty and Doctor Who – whilst the industrial side of both these productions remains central, we have managed to cultivate a good presence on both these productions during their shoots including a regular 6 weekly visit pattern to the Casualty set. We have seen a small increase in membership with the central cast as a result of our efforts, which is encouraging. We are hopeful with a change of central actor and producer that we may have better luck with Doctor Who going forward! Cast in Wales – the campaign has been a slow starter and it is hoped that the new National Committee will take this forward. We have had some success with the BBC in Cardiff on engaging them on this issue and we are hopeful of a new approach on the local casting of people within Wales in the next twelve months. The use of the Equity Oriel Database is key and a freshening up of the site along with new functionality will be important to make this a useful tool to casting agents. The National Organiser met with both Rhodri Talfan Davies (Director, BBC Cymru Wales) and Julie Scott (Head of Drama, BBC Cymru Wales) during 2013 to discuss Cast in Wales and the way forward. TAC: Rownd a Rownd remains the only ‘full time’ commission in North Wales from S4C and has recently been moved to prime time as part of a schedule change. There remains a good central cast and the ‘guarantee’ contract worked out previously has had some slight tweaks in the latest series which has resulted in some of the guarantees being raised above previous levels. The company have a good involvement with Equity and they now have a good solid team of deps on the programme. The use of ‘Back to Back’ has been a major topic for the last twelve months. This involves the shooting of the same programme in both the English and Welsh Language at the same time using the same group of actors. There hasn’t been a production like this for some time which resulted in the provision being dropped from the TAC agreement in 2010. However Equity has worked with TAC to provide a new variation of the agreement for the first series of HINTERLAND which raised the weekly minimum from £600 to £900 to accommodate this unusual format. It shot over 28 weeks in West Wales and is a co-commission between S4C, BBC Cymru Wales and All 3 Media – it premiered on S4C in the Welsh Language at the end of October, BBC Cymru Wales will show a version in both Welsh and English in early 2014 and then it will premiere in an English version on BBC4 in April or May 2014. There has also been a lot of interest in overseas sales and DVD distribution in both languages – something to monitor for the future.

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There have been a number of other continuing series (Gwaith Cartref etc) but producers continue to not send production information through and we are currently working with TAC to remind the producers of this contractual requirement and also to remind them of the minimum terms and conditions of the contract, especially with regards to SA’s and Walk-ons. A feature film Y Syrcus was made on the TAC agreement during 2013. The producers were new into the arena and there were a number of issues which required attention. After filming had finished they decided they wanted to dub the film into English using the original cast, but not at the rates in the agreement – when Equity intervened the plan was dropped, although in the final few days of 2013 Equity was contacted by Capital Law on behalf of TAC to re-open discussions on a dub. Initial discussions were started with Capital Law on behalf of TAC to look at a revision to the agreement, including rates, with meetings planned to start in 2014. S4C: Ian Jones has now been at S4C for well over a year and has overseen a major re-organisation in structure and commissioning. They have dropped HD and their +1 service in order to save money and are currently sub-letting offices at their base in Cardiff to increase revenue. Co-production is in built to Ian Jones’ DNA after his years in the industry and we can only see this area increasing over time. S4C announced in the summer of 2013 that they will be trialling the use of the BBC iPlayer as a new platform for users to access their programmes. They already have their own catch up service CLIC but this does not stand alone on platforms with the ability to download. The announcement was a great surprise, especially to Equity, as no discussion had taken place as to the ramifications within the rights packages – discussions are currently ongoing between Equity and TAC/S4C about this. Equity’s position is that the money they pay currently for catch-up pays for CLIC only, S4C believe that they can pay the same money and put it across multiple platforms without further premium. S4C have also been exploring opening up their archive of programmes either on a DTO basis or an ondemand service, like the CLIC and iPlayer. Equity has had various discussions with them on this, but ultimately any money they want to spend will come out of the budget for new drama so we are not eager to pursue this matter with any urgency. The S4C / BBC framework agreement which saw the BBC become responsible for funding has been widely debated and there is an element of people waiting to see what happens next. The DCMS money paid direct to S4C, albeit reducing over time, has been confirmed for a further two years – this should give some onward stability but ultimately the channel still finds viewers figures shrinking as viewers question the relevance of the channel – especially with the number of Welsh speakers falling. Other: Stella has filmed its third series for Sky, made by Ruth Jones’ company Tidy Productions. This has been re-commissioned for a fourth series to be filmed in 2014. Davinci’s Demons continued to be filmed in the old Ford plant in Swansea. There were issues as to the SA and Walk On rates used, and this is something which will need to be resolved with the producers for Series 3 if re-commissioned. WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT / NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: The new minister for Culture and Sport is John Griffiths, the AM for Newport East, who took up position in 2013. Previously the portfolio existed under Housing, Regeneration and Heritage but was redesignated in the last re-shuffle which saw Mr Griffiths move to the post.

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The opposition parties have been approachable - Suzy Davies (Conservative), Bethan Jenkins (Plaid Cymru) and Peter Black (Liberal Democrats). Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats were particularly supportive with the Cast In Wales campaign in writing to Ofcom and the BBC. The new minister seems to be engaging well with the sector, and the unions, but ultimately the budget cuts to all departments has seen the settlement from Westminster being reduced by £81 million in two revisions of the 2013/14 and 2014/15 budgets for the Assembly – this has meant a focus on ‘Priorities for Wales’. The Culture and Sport portfolio is, so we are told, at the heart of the Welsh Government’s aim to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through our culture, special landscapes, heritage and sport by enabling more people to enjoy them. The portfolio also makes a contribution towards improving the health and educational outcomes of children, young people and families living in poverty and creating sustainable places for people. However the reality is a cut in budget year on year. In the latest budget announced last week the assembly have indicated a 3.5% cut in the relevant area of the Culture and Sports budget from 2013/14 to 2014/15 (£34,758,000 to £33,408,000) and then a further cut of 0.7% to £33,158,000 in 2015/16. In real terms the cuts are more like 5.7% and 2.5%. The review of TIE/YPT provision has just been published and makes a number of interesting recommendations, unfortunately the historical actions of the Arts Council in scrapping all TIE companies and Education Officers from companies makes the delivery in the short-term almost impossible. • formally state the central role for arts education in schools by making a commitment to provide high quality arts education and access to the arts • promote the use of the arts in helping to improve numeracy and literacy and reducing the attainment gap • include creativity as a core theme across all subjects in both primary and secondary education • work with the Arts Council of Wales and experienced education practitioners to develop a new framework for arts-related professional development • support schools ‘arts champions’ within the new national plan for creative learning and Welsh Arts Awards for individual teachers • require Estyn to carry out regular audits of Welsh schools to assess the levels of creative learning. The Welsh Assembly has increased legislative powers devolved from Westminster, however the area of Broadcasting is not devolved. The Welsh Government is anxious to ensure that the interests of Welsh citizens are reflected in the development of UK Broadcasting policy but their only engagement so far is a commission looking into the matter, with no public statements on the issue. Equity responded to this commission and it is due to report in March 2014. With regard to S4C Equity believes that the Welsh Government should monitor the agreed structure for the next couple of years under the current agreement and continue to report. S4C is so critical to Welsh culture that the Welsh Government has to be able to have a say in how it is managed and cannot continue to dodge the question or responsibility. The inquiry into the Outlook for Media in Wales ended with 23 recommendations for the Assembly to consider, the main thrust of them being the establishment of an Independent forum to advise on policy in relation to the media in Wales. The form was to draw upon the expertise from across the media sectors with the purpose being to look to the future and to advise on matters across all sections of the media. The rest of the recommendations stemmed from this forum but unfortunately the government rejected the recommendation for the forum and the rest of the recommendations were to be rolled into Assembly responsibility – the First Minister did agree to set up a Broadcasting Advisory Panel, reporting directly to him, which first met in September 2012, but no public statements of policy have been announced. One of the cornerstones of the Labour Manifesto in the last Assembly elections was the introduction of a Heritage Bill for Wales. Until this year there had been no timeframe on moving this legislation forward,

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and certainly no detail as to whether Culture would be incorporated into the bill. The Welsh Assembly have recently carried out a consultation on the policy and legislation where it makes clear that the Heritage Bill will look at proposals to improve the protection of the historic environment of Wales and the promotion of its sustainable management. It also outlined options and proposals for changes to the delivery of historic environment services on the national, regional and local level. The exclusion of Welsh culture from this bill is disappointing, but the consultation process is set to continue and we will monitor it further. OUTSIDE BODIES: Arts Council: As reported earlier, in the latest budget the assembly have indicated a 3.5% cut in the relevant area of the Culture and Sports budget from 2013/14 to 2014/15 (£34,758,000 to £33,408,000) and then a further cut of 0.7% to £33,158,000 in 2015/16. In real terms the cuts are more like 5.7% and 2.5%. This has resulted in the Arts Council of Wales funding being cut by 3% and a cut in real terms of 5.81% to the funding of the local council budgets. ACW Chair Dai Smith has said that the organisation was ‘very pleased’ with the outcome, considering the current economic situation. He said ‘Funding reductions are never welcome. But under the circumstances, we are very pleased with this outcome and see it as an important signal of the Welsh Government’s commitment to the arts and their role in supporting wider Government policy’. How this cut will be spread amongst the RFO’s is yet to be identified, however the amount of money that local councils spend on the arts and culture is often funded without any statutory obligation and we have already seem some severe cuts announced in various councils across Wales. Wales Association for the Performing Arts: The National Organiser continued to attend meetings where, unsurprisingly, the cuts to funding by local government and central government were high on the agenda. CULT Cymru: Creative Unions Learning Together (Equity, The Musicians Union, BECTU and The Writers Guild) – The CULT Cymru training initiative is ongoing and has secured a further three years of funding from the Welsh Union Learning Fund, including a specific ‘Equity only’ pot for targeted courses for members. At the end of October a workshop, in collaboration with the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, worked with John McGrath, Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales, heavily oversubscribed a repeat is already planned for March 2014. A Creative Fair took place in Bangor, North Wales, in March 2013 which saw members from all four unions coming together to discuss the challenges faced by the industry in the area.

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they welcomed three guests from the BBC – Julie Scott, Head of Drama BBC Cymru Wales; Erika Hossington, Executive Producer on Casualty and Llyr Morus, Acting Executive Producer on Pobol y Cym. A committee was selected Chair: Matthew Mudge Vice-Chair: Jonathan Gilmore Branch Secretary: Philip Rapier Treasurer: Abbie Hirst PRO: Caron Reidy Committee Member: Richard McAndler The North Wales General Branch remains in mothballs and it is hoped to organise an event in 2014 to gauge interest in re-launching later in the year. WELSH NATIONAL COMMITTEE The Committee for 2011-2013 met three times, and the Committee for 2013-2015 met three times in 2013. The Committee were again well engaged on a wide variety of issues from Role Play to an Honorary President of the Welsh National Committee. The motion to the ARC from the committee asked for a review of paying travel expenses to members attending their area AGM’s, an important issue when the union is seeking to increase engagement with its membership. The Chair of the WNC for 2011-2013 was Terry Victor and the elected members were: Olwen Rees: Vice Chair Chris Batten Phil Evans Goldini Eiry Thomas Beth House Michael Kelligan Naomi Martell Roger Nott Doc O’Brien Julia Carson Sims – co-opted in February 2012 Megan Brooks – co-opted in March 2012

BRANCHES The South Wales Variety Branch has continued to meet monthly in Baglan and attendance has been very consistent. They have also continued to mount fund raising shows for local charities. In February at the AGM a new committee was elected:Chair: Goldini Branch Secretary: Shelli Dawn Treasurer: Cei Phillips Sadly Goldini passed away in July 2013, a great blow to the branch and to Equity in Wales. The Branch has continued to operate without a Chair but will be seeking to fill the position at their AGM in 2014.

In July the WNC for 2013-2015 was elected: Chris Batten - Chair Abbie Hirst - Vice-Chair Megan Brooks Phil Evans Goldini – Died July 2013 Joanne Grabham Bev Lennon Doc O’Brien Ben Owen-Jones Cei Phillips Gerri Smith Terry Victor Roger Nott – Co-opted July 2013

After a successful exploratory meeting in July 2013, the Cardiff and South Wales General Branch was relaunched in September 2013 after an absence of a number of years. At the first meeting in September

At the beginning of its term of office the new WNC were obliged to set its aims and objectives for the next two years. An extensive list was produced, many of which carry forward from committee to

Creative and Cultural Skills; The National Organiser, as a member of the NSA (National Skills Academy) Advisory Committee for Wales, continued to look at Training and Apprentice opportunities across the Creative Industries.

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committee, but they also set some very specific aims for the future:• Continue to monitor the output and provision of BBC Cymru Wales and S4C, in particular monitoring the new framework agreement between the two broadcasters . • To carry forward the Cast in Wales campaign pushing for a casting office in Roath Lock and more consideration of the local talent. • To launch a campaign to remind S4C as the National Broadcaster for Wales, as well as all theatre producers and all broadcasters, that they need to reflect in their programming and casting the diversity of the population of the country. • There will be a new TAC negotiation during the life of the new WNC and the committee, along with the National Organiser, will need to protect the good work of the past in this area. The WNC still believes they have a key role to play in advancing Equity policy on this issue in conjunction with the new Screen Committee. • To continue to explore through the Mentoring Scheme and the Ambassadors Scheme, in conjunction with the National Organiser, a policy for engaging with students studying and also recent graduates entering into the profession. Both schemes need to be revitalised. • To continue its good working relationship with the South Wales Variety Branch and the Cardiff and South Wales General Branch. • To explore a reactivation of the North Wales General Branch. • It is important to remember that the WNC serves the whole of Wales and through exploration of new technology and media needs to maintain contact with members through formal branches and online branches.

B. REGIONAL

1. MIDLANDS AREA The Midlands Region covers the Counties of Oxfordshire, Northants, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Hereford & Worcester, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. However the county of Oxfordshire was transferred to the South-East Area towards the end of the year as the majority of members in the County are members of branches within the South-East region and the County falls under Southern Arts for allocation under the Arts Council grants system. The Midlands Regional office is in Coventry. The region contains 4 branches, The Central England General branch with Secretary Kelley Costigan, and three Variety Branches, Birmingham with Secretary Jim Townsend, Coventry & Leicester with Secretary Annie Gay, and East Midlands Branch with Secretary Christine Shaw. All the branches play a vital role in bringing members together usually monthly and organising events involving the work and issues of concern and interest to the members in the area. Each Branch sends out emails monthly advertising their meetings. The Midlands Area Committee consisting of Tracey Briggs ( Chair) Sally Treble ( Midlands Councillor) Sheila Payne, John Brennan, Nigel Harris, Chris Shaw, Mandelea, Kaz Luckins, Jim Townsend, Rob Stanley, Sharon Cannings and Miles Richardson met on 4 occasions including immediately before the AGM at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham. The Area structure was disbanded in July 2013 under the reorganisation implemented this year. Tracey Briggs has continued to build a network of activists under the Campaign for Regional Broadcasting Midlands ( CRBM) not only actors, but writers and technicians, M.P.’s and Councillors and the general public in the Midlands, to protest about the reduction in employment at BBC Mailbox which has moved programmes previously produced in the Midlands, to Salford, London and Cardiff. This has a knock on ripple effect to all the smaller independent companies that made product for BBC Midlands who are also forced to move away from the region. CRBM has met with Birmingham City Council and with Tony Hall the new BBC Director General to some effect. Production has been maintained on existing productions as well as attracting new production to the Region, With “Father Brown” and “ Truckers” “The Game” and “WPC56” being made in the Region as well as the ongoing “Doctors” series. The Midlands based branches were also kept informed of national issues and initiatives by the Equity Council by Midland Regional Councillor Sally Treble, who reported on meeting with M.P’s on cuts to the Arts, the vetting and baring scheme, entertainment Agency licensing, and negotiations with BBC, ITV and the independent producers

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(PACT) on rates of pay. Sally was a member of the Variety Advisory Committee (VAC) and currently chair of Variety Circus and Entertainers Committee (VCEC) that replace it in the summer under the reorganisation and also chair of the Walk-on Committee and attends negotiations on behalf of the Union with employers’ bodies in these areas. The Annual Representative Conference in May 2013 was held in London and all the branches, sent representatives. The Midlands Annual Open meeting ARC motion called for the BBC to spend a fair share of the BBC licence fee in the Nations and English regions with the Midlands region being particularly hard hit with 25% of BBC licence fee being raised, with 2% being spent in the Region. The ARC agreed, and this has been taken up by The Council with the Culture Select Committee, Ofcom, and with M.P.’s. Central England General Branch proposed to the ARC that the regulatory framework on Employment Agencies was strengthened during to consultation by the government before amending the legislation. This was carried at the ARC and the Equity Council have submitted key evidence to the consultation on unscrupulous practices by some agents. East Midlands Variety branch tabled an ARC motion seeking to include cancellation clauses in the ITV, BBC and PACT agreements. This motion was remitted as it was not clear that this motion if carried would have the beneficial effect desired by the members. There have been discussions with BBC, ITV and PACT and the motion is due to be discussed by the Walk-On Committee shortly. Members sought legal representation for a wide range of complaints through the Midlands Regional office, with several claims for unpaid wages and unpaid holiday pay in theatre companies that required Employment tribunal claims to be made. These were all successful. The majority of the claims from members were for variety bookings, as they tend to do one off performances, so make many more contracts than actors that can go wrong. Between 1 January and 31 December 2013, £6,880 has been recovered in theatre claims and £31,898.56 for Variety claims involving 79 claims for members. At Birmingham Royal Ballet pay was frozen across the company for a third year on condition that the company remained at a compliment of 60 dancers due to the cuts in subsidy and this was accepted by all members of the company as a necessity. A full report on Birmingham Royal ballet is presented under Standing Companies in the Annual Report. Visits were made to many higher educational establishments in the region including Oxford School of drama, Elmhurst Ballet School, Cirencester College, Derby University, Midlands Academy Nottingham, Stratford College, West Nottingham College and Expressions Academy Notts, and Birmingham School of Speech & drama and all the above drama training colleges will be visited in 2014 where student membership is high. Theatre continued to be produced in the region, with Curve Leicester, Playhouse Nottingham, Belgrade Coventry Derby Playhouse Royal Northampton and Birmingham Rep ( coming back on-stream as a producing house after a refurbishment in the autumn), All the casts are visited regularly and any problems encountered taken up on their behalf. In television “Doctors” the daytime series continues to be produced in Birmingham together with “Father Brown” “WPC56” and “The Game” and “Truckers” made in the east of the region is a new production in 2013. 2013 has proved another difficult year for actors and variety artists mainly due to the financial climate, but Midlands based artists have diversified into corporate work and role play when acting parts in plays and pub work have proved difficult to come by leaving them better equipped to take advantage of the improvement in the economy in 2014.

2. NORTHERN

Northern Area Committee Area Committee elections were held in the summer of 2011 with those elected becoming the last members of the Northern Area Committee under the old Committee structure which ceased to exist after June 2013. Members of the Committee who served during 2013 were: Yvonne Joseph (Chair & Councillor) Geremy Phillips (Vice -Chair) Stephen Aintree Anthony Blakesley David Corden Eleanor Dearle Dave Eager

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Ann Loraine Brenda Marsh Fiona Martin Peter Rylands Susan Twist The Committee met three times in 2013 in Manchester (twice) and Newcastle upon Tyne. It considered all matters referred to Area Committees for consultation and received reports on all relevant industrial matters. It sent 3 motions to Council: (1) urging liaison with our industry’s sector skills councils; (2) requesting that the new Area Networks have the right to send motions to Council and ARC and to send Reps to the ARC; and (3) requesting that an English National Committee be set up to complement those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Council agreed the first, rejected the second and referred the third as part of the review of the new structure. The Northern Area AGM was held at Newcastle Theatre Royal. The venue was chosen as a reminder of the potential damage that could ensue from cuts in local authority theatre funding. The Newcastle City Council £600,000 pa cut is believed to be the biggest cut to a single theatre in England. It attracted an excellent turn-out of over 50 members with Vice President Jean Rogers and General Secretary in attendance. The Northern Area AGM’s motion to the ARC which called on Council ‘to take any action necessary to persuade the Government and local councils to commit to any options available to restore funding of the arts’ was carried at the ARC.

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Equity members and all the publically-funded theatres in Yorkshire and the North East enthusiastically supported the My Theatre Matters! Campaign and all the Reps plus Newcastle Theatre Royal, Sheffield Lyceum and Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, hosted Curtain Call Speeches. There were 35 pantos and Christmas shows in the North East region in 2013/14, some of which were on TMA Rep and Commercial terms or on ITC contracts. But the majority of the commercial shows were on non-Equity contracts. Most were visited and recruitment achieved. The theatres to host traditional summer season shows were the Futurist and Spa Theatres in Bridlington, Scarborough and Whitby. The future of the Futurist remains in serious doubt however and it is currently closed. Many of the large theatres in the region hosted ‘number 1’ touring shows many of which were on the TMA/Equity Commercial Theatre Agreement and most were visited in Leeds, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Wakefield, Bradford, Sunderland, Hull and Newcastle. Film, TV & Radio. With Screen Yorkshire based in Leeds being massively scaled down following the Government decision to axe the UK Films Council, the landscape for film funding is changing, but Screen Yorkshire maintains a presence. Location visits took place on Mike Leigh’s film about JMW Turner (working title Untitled 13) near Sheffield, Seventy-one (Leeds and Sheffield), Electricity (Sunderland), Pleasure Island (nr Skegness), Residue (Leeds) and in January 2014 Altar (near Knaresborough).

The Committee had no rights to send ARC Representatives under the new structure but after a closely-contested election, Dolores Poretta-Brown and Ann Loraine were elected to represent the Area AGM at the 2013 ARC.

Day-to-day contact with ITV continued, and studio meetings were held with Emmerdale members. Equity was ably assisted on Emmerdale by long-serving Deputy John Middleton together with Nicola Wheeler.

The Committee received comprehensive reports from its Councillor (Yvonne Joseph) and two Regional Organisers (Nigel Jones NE and Jamie Briers NW), with key issues (for the whole of 2013) summarised below:

The other ITV production in the region over the course of the year was DCI Banks.

North East Theatre. The six established building-based Subsidised Repertory theatres (West Yorkshire Playhouse (WYP), York Theatre Royal, Harrogate, Stephen Joseph Scarborough (SJT), Sheffield Crucible (which was pronounced Regional Theatre of the Year for the second consecutive year in The Stage Awards) and Northern Stage produced successfully during 2013. Equity was pleased to see the arrival of a new Artistic Director (Mark Babych) and Executive Director (Janthi Mills-Ward) at Hull Truck, thus restoring the post of Artistic Director, the ending of which Equity opposed in 2010. Hull Tuck worked on both The Subsidised Repertory and ITC contracts and Equity has sought a return to regular Sub Rep terms. Live Theatre, Hull Truck, Interplay, Open Clasp, Pilot, Red Ladder, NTC, Hullaballoo, Tutti Frutti, Unlimited, Vincent Dance, Tell Tale Hearts and Eclipse produced on the ITC contract. Halifax-based Northern Broadsides continued its touring commitments and has indicated its willingness to negotiate a house agreement with Equity. The Contemporary Dance world was represented by Phoenix Dance, Ballet Lorent, Vincent Dance Theatre (which has almost entirely now migrated to Brighton) and Dora Frankel Dance, while Northern Ballet maintained a classical presence in the region. Opera was represented by Opera North, and the region has many touring theatres which have played host to opera, ballet and musical productions from outside the region. We were pleased to attend the Take Off Festival of Children’s Theatre in its second year based on Durham Gala Theatre in October. The overwhelming issue in all theatre however remains the question of funding in the light of substantial ACE and local authority cuts, which saw Northumberland Theatre Company lose all its ACE funding in 2012 (against which it has needed a heroic fundraising effort to continue to produce) and an announcement that Newcastle City Council proposed to cut its entire £1.6m arts budget over the three years to 2015, affecting Newcastle Theatre Royal , Northern Stage, Live Theatre and Dance City. Equity hosted a meeting in January 2013 between senior representatives of these four venues and two of the three Newcastle MPs who are supportive of the need for continued funding. Equity also invited six members who had worked recently in theses venues and explained most articulately what the theatre arts mean to the city and those working within the sector. The Council has subsequently agreed to set up a fund to contribute £600,000 to the arts in the city.

Independent producers using the PACT agreement have continued to film in the region including Vera (Wallsend), Inspector George Gently (Durham) Prisoners’ Wives (Sheffield), Hank Zipzer (Halifax), Utopia (Leeds)The Great Train Robbery (Leeds and Goole) Death Comes to Pemberley (York), Happy Valley (Hebden Bridge) Jamaica Inn , and Remember Me (both Huddersfield). Location visits took place on all of them. Direct BBC TV presence in the region continued with The Paradise (Chester le Street) plus The Dumping Ground (which replaced Tracy Beaker), new CBBC production Wolfblood (both Newcastle), and the one-off Bollywood Carmen (Bradford). Studio/location visits took place on all four. Variety. The four variety branches in the region continue to be active. At North and West Yorkshire Variety Branch, Secretary Valerie Jean Mann has continued in the job done by the late Jackie Provis for the best part of two decades, and the branch has moved to a new meeting venue in Birkenshaw where free food and an open mic session have proved popular. Humberside Variety Branch continues under Secretary Christie Clifford to hold meetings alternately on the North and South banks of the Humber (at a new Hull venue and in Scunthorpe) as well as the annual July meeting in Scarborough which is always an event to look forward to, with the 2013 gathering receiving an interesting and salutary talk from Branch member Mark Stratton on the joys and pitfalls of putting on high quality professional theatre on a shoestring in the North York Moors as Artistic Director of Esk Valley Theatre Company. North East Variety Branch continues to be well attended and to arrange popular functions, not least the legendary North East Dinner dance, though the numbers have been down in the last few years. The 2013 event was delighted to welcome General Secretary Christine Payne and solicitor Chris Donnison who has done so much work for Equity members over the last 25 years. Long standing Secretary Brenda Marsh remains in the hot seat. Attendances at South Yorkshire have been poor with the November AGM having to be re-run in January 2014 after failing to attract a quorum. Happily the re-run attracted a good turn out. Joy Palmer continued as Secretary and it is hoped that a number of new committee members will inject fresh energy. The main focus of organiser time all year round tends to be claims against clubs, pubs, agents, promoters etc. Nearly £20,000 was recovered on 33 cases, many involving court action. A number of circuses toured the region and Greentop remain based in Sheffield. Flamingoland and Lightwater Valley in North Yorkshire, Hartlepool Maritime Quay and Pleasure Island in Cleethorpes are some of the theme parks in the area and offer employment

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for variety performers and dancers. Recruitment in variety continued to be steady, partly due to the requirement of clubs in much of the region that performers must have public liability insurance, though the figures have slowed since the PLI panic of 2002. Contact was maintained with North East federations of concert secretaries, The Musicians’ Union, and The Agents’ Association, via the North East Entertainments Council and separately. General Branches. The year 2013 finally saw the creation of a General Branch for the North East of England, an overdue development in the opinion of many. The Newcastle funding cuts and My Theatre Matters! lent focus to the initiative, and the signs are that the branch will be a thriving and welcome addition to our Branch network. First Officers include Sue Reid (Secretary) and Chris Connel (Chair). Yorkshire Ridings General Branch (formerly Leeds and District) has continued to be active and held its AGM in September at the Friargate Theatre in York. Its meeting at ITV (Yorkshire) was pleased to welcome ITV Casting Director Faye Styring who spoke to the exceptionally well-attended gathering. Pete Keal continued as Secretary and worked hard to refresh the branch and to develop its links with other trade unions in Yorkshire. Students. Visits were arranged to drama and dance students at Newcastle, Gateshead, Sheffield, Doncaster and Barnsley Colleges. A major presence was maintained at the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough in April. Equity also attended Careers Fairs in Leeds (dance) and Harrogate (general media).

North West

Live Performance

Subsidised Repertory Theatre – 2013 proved to be a relatively healthy year for the subsidised theatre sector in the North West of England. Despite the prospect of local authority budget cuts as a consequence of the Government’s austerity agenda, there has been little enthusiastic support for the My Theatre Matters Campaign from members of the TMA, primarily because local authority support for theatre has been maintained throughout 2013. TMA members have signed up to the campaign, but there has been resistance to curtain call speeches, even where the Equity members have shown willing. Theatre managers were careful to point out that whilst their organisations supported the aim of the campaign they felt that there was a danger of sending confused messages to local authority leaders who in difficult times, had continued to support theatre. The Repertory Theatres (Manchester Royal Exchange, Library Theatre Manchester, Liverpool Playhouse, Oldham Coliseum, Bolton Octagon, Stoke New Vic and Theatre by the Lake, Keswick) continued to focus on their home grown productions and 2013, although there was a continued increase in co-productions. 2013 saw Chester Performs produce their second summer season in Grosvenor Park using Subsidised Repertory Agreement and The Dukes in Lancaster returned to Williamson Park to produce their renowned promenade production just one year after concerns that the production was to be cut from their programme for good owing to Arts’ Council funding cuts. Regular and routine cast visits have continued to take place throughout the year at all the producing theatres in the North West, with positive returns in terms of recruitment and retention, along with the election and support of Equity Deputies. Visits have largely focused on the challenges presented by the current funding climate and discussions about the My Theatre Matters Campaign. In addition, for the second half of 2013 cast visits were dominated by firstly the consultation into the National Insurance status of entertainers and more latterly the consequences and implication of the changes being implemented in April 2014. Theatre by the Lake, Keswick continued to produce a strong programme of work across its two performance spaces. The summer season Company engaged 14 actors and a team of 5 stage management between April and November. In the spring the theatre mounted a production of Rogue Herries, which involved a community chorus. Although the request to use community ensemble was authorised by the regional organiser as it fell within the existing guidelines, concerns were raised about some of the roles allocated to community members and as a consequence further discussion took place with the theatre management as to the appropriate use of community groups in professional productions. The Liverpool Theatres’ Trust, which is responsible for both the Liverpool Playhouse and the Liverpool Everyman saw work being produced out of just The Playhouse, as The Everyman was re-built throughout 2013. 2013 also

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saw The Playhouse engage with the Liverpool General Branch in their campaign to provide casting opportunities for Liverpool based actors. Following a branch meeting at which the artistic director, Gemma Bodinez was guest speaker, their associate director, Charlotte Gwinner worked with the branch committee and regional organiser to offer ‘meet and read’ sessions with local actors. In addition to this The Playhouse continued to present a mixed programme of home produced, co-produced and touring work, with visits taking place to each Company. The New Victoria Theatre in, Newcastle Under Lyme, started 2013 facing the prospect of a 100% cut in their funding from Stoke City Council. In cash terms, although significant, the cut would not have been critical on its own however, Stoke City Council was an important funding partner, which propped up other income streams. The regional organiser met with Fiona Wallace, Executive Director of The New Vic in early January and was told that the theatre was confident that their negotiations would lead to a reduction in the proposed cut to a level which would continue to support the other funding streams and this proved to be the case. In terms of productions, the theatre increased the number of home grown productions and in turn reinstated a fifth member of their stage management team one year after making one of the posts redundant. In addition 2013 saw the New Vic’s first transfer to the West End when the Thrill of Love transferred in the Spring. Bolton Octagon continues to present an ambitious program of home produced work, under the artistic leadership of David Thacker. The theatre continues to receive good support from its funding partners including the Arts Council, the Local Authority and The University of Bolton. The programme of work largely consists of 9 home produced productions. The theatre has expanded the practice of through casting and visits have taken place to each Company with discussions very much focused on the My Theatre Matters Campaign. In 2013 the Oldham Coliseum produced its first full season since re-opening following an extensive refurbishment that was undertaken following receipt of an additional £1.5milion from Oldham Borough Council. It has also been another good year for Manchester’s Library Theatre Company in its final year as The Library Theatre Company before it begins to trade as Home, ahead of the move to the new building in 2015. Walter Meierjohann was appointed as the artistic director of the new company in April 2013 and has been working with the outgoing artistic director Chris Honer as the company prepares for the transition to the new premises. The Company has continued to work in partnership with The Lowry and The Z-Arts, following the move out of the central library. In the summer, a site specific production of Manchester Sound, was produced in an old warehouse in Manchester and was featured in the BBC’s Culture Show. Chester Performs completed its fourth successful season of open air theatre in Grosvenor Park Chester and for the second season used the Equity/TMA Sub Rep Agreement. An acting company of 14 and stage management team of 3, worked on their season rehearsed and played over a 12 week period in the summer. This year saw a third play added into the repertoire which led to some issues, particularly in the resourcing of the stage management team. The Dukes’ Theatre in Lancaster continued to adjust to their new reduced funding settlement from the Arts Council and managed to increase their home produced work from 3 to 4 plays in 2013, which included a return to Williamson Park in the summer. The Dukes’ continued to be members of the ITC, but after lobbying by both the acting companies working with the Dukes and the North Lancs and Cumbria General Branch, they have started discussions with the regional organiser about returning to the TMA and contracting actors and stage management on the Equity/TMA Sub Rep agreement from April 2014. Independent Theatre Sector - In the Small Scale Sector the M6 Theatre Company and The Action Transport Theatre Company, Horse and Bamboo, Reveal Theatre Company and 20 Stories High still continue to actively produce and work using the ITC/Equity contract. Equity has had a presence at the various theatre festivals taking place in Manchester throughout 2012, including the ‘24:7 Festival’. Each of these has provided opportunities for members to work and seen the development of new writing and the emergence of a growing fringe theatre scene within Manchester. Significantly, the festivals provide alternative opportunities for Equity to campaign with its members on issues such as Theatre funding, but also raise awareness of statutory rights, including the National Minimum Wage, amongst members.

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Commercial Theatre - In the commercial sector throughout 2013 a number of cast visits took place with a number of companies visiting theatres in the North West, including The Lowry, Manchester Opera House, Palace Theatre, Liverpool Empire, Royal Court, Blackpool Grand and The Stoke Regent. Productions visited included 9to 5 One Man Two Guvnors, Cats, Dirty Dancing, Ghost the Musical, West Side Story, Evita and Dreamboats and Petticoats. In Pantomime, 2013 proved to be a difficult year, with 17 professional companies being visited. Non-compliance with the Equity/TMA Commercial Theatre Agreement is still prevalent in the North West of England, with one pantomime using the Agreement. Variety All three variety branches continue prosper to varying degrees under the leadership and direction of their hard working officers. The Manchester Variety Branch continues to be very active with good attendances at their monthly meetings, which provide a useful opportunity for members to discuss and debate the issues that are affecting them as performers. In addition to their annual outing to Blackpool, the branch also hosted a number of social evenings throughout the year. Members of the branch continued to play an active role through the Northern Area Committee, until it was disbanded and replaced with Specialist Committees of Equity. The Blackpool Variety Branch has continued to play an active role in all aspects of Equity’s business raising the profile of Equity amongst members working and living in the Blackpool Area. The Branch supported Equity at the Keeping it Live Showcase in Blackpool in 2013. They have actively pursued involvement in the Recruitment and Retention activities of the Union and they continue to work with the Recruitment Organiser in the North to encourage Hoteliers and Club Officials to engage Equity members on the back of the public liability cover our members carry. They have also produced a series of Variety shows, to fundraise for the branch and other local charities. The Merseyside Branch has had a revival of fortunes in 2013 and under the leadership of their new Chairman, Chris Dale, has seen a much more vibrant and healthy branch with increased participation and attendances at meetings, aided by their move to The Adelphi Hotel for their meetings. The highlight of their year was a fundraising event for both the branch funds and The Alzheimers Society which raised just under £1500. Equity attended many events throughout 2013, aimed at organising and recruiting variety members; Keeping it Live National Variety Showcase, Blackpool, Magicians’ Convention Blackpool, Merseyside Dance Initiative Industry Event, Tameside and District Concert Secretaries AGM, Agents Association Meeting, North West Burlesque Society. Claims – 2013 saw work undertaken on 88 claims (66 arising from variety and 22 arising from general areas). Out of these 31 have seen full recovery, totalling £15066.10, with work continuing on 37 more. None of these claims were referred to Equity’s solicitors with the remaining claims all being dealt with in house. Recorded Media Television Production continued to increase in the North West in 2013, coinciding with the continued development of Media City UK is Salford. The migration of BBC Children’s Television to Media City UK, along with the flexible production units that the development facilitates has enabled the region to build on what was already a well-established production base. Visits have taken place on the following productions; DNN, 4 O’Clock Club, All at Sea, Strange Hill High, Fresh Meat 3, Still Open All Hours, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, The Wright Way, Young Dracula, Hebburn, The Mill, Common, Cabbages and Pat, Last Tango in Halifax, From There to Here, Moving on and In The Flesh,. The Coronation Street forum has met four times this year covering a wide range of workplace issues. 2013 was also the final year that the production was filmed at the Quay Street Studios in Manchester. 2013 also saw the Equity Deputy on Coronation Street, Julie Hesmondhalgh, leave the cast. Replacement Deputies have been identified and work has commenced on how Equity organises on the show moving forward. Film visits were undertaken to the productions of Noble, The Last Showing and Residue. General Branches The North West of England General Branch was renamed The Greater Manchester and Region General Branch towards the end of 2013 in recognition of the fact that it was no longer the only general branch in the North West of England. The branch had a positive year and has focused a lot of their efforts on reaching out to new members

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and building participation in the branch. The 2013 committee elections saw 10 members standing for the 9 positions. The Branch engaged with the theatre festivals in Manchester, including the 24/7 Festival, and awarded the Vicky Allan Memorial Award for the best new single act play at the Summer Social in August, which was their liveliest summer social for some years. They have also extended their range of guest speakers to include; Kathryn Worthington, Director 24/7 Theatre Festival, Jean Rogers, Vice-President and Paul Fleming, London Theatre Organiser. The branch also organised and took part in the TUC march in Manchester in September. The new Liverpool and District General Branch was formally constituted in 2012 and had its first full year in existence. The year has been most productive and exceeded the expectations of many of those involved and included building links with Liverpool City Council. The highlight of their year was their lobbying activity to encourage The Playhouse and Everyman to consider casting locally, which led to the ‘meet and read’ sessions in September. As a consequence the branch has gone from strength to strength with an active and engaged membership. They also hosted a summer social barbecue in Sefton Park in August as well as the Christmas Social in November. The new North Lancs and Cumbria General Branch was also formally constituted in 2012 and has also had its first full year in existence. The branch meets every other month and has focused on two key campaigns in 2013. Firstly lobbying The Dukes to revert to contract their actors and stage managers on the Equity/TMA Sub Rep Agreement and secondly to advance the My Theatre Matters Campaign in the branch area. Meetings and activities have been well attended and supported by branch members. They have also had the General Secretary as a Guest Speaker. In addition they hosted a successful Christmas Social and branch members also attended a one day Equity Workshop in Lancaster. The Isle of Man General Branch has continued to enjoy positive attendances at meetings, under the leadership and direction of the branch officers. The branch has focused on improving relationships between Isle of Man Films and the branch and has enjoyed a much more positive relationship, this has lead to greater consideration by production companies filming on the Isle of Man to offer castings on the Island. Student Visits A number of student visits have taken place across the North West throughout 2013 raising awareness and recruitment to Equity’s student membership scheme and also where appropriate informing graduates of the benefits of full Equity membership. Schools and colleges visited include Manchester Met, ALRA North, The Arden, LIPA, Liverpool Theatre School, University of Cumbria, and Blackpool and The Fylde College Whenever possible the North West Regional Organiser and The Recruitment and Retention Organiser has been accompanied by and Equity member, particularly where the member is a graduate of a particular school. When requested, Specialist staff have accompanied to give in-depth details on issues as requested, for example on Tax, National Insurance and Benefits. It is hoped that this will not only encourage students to participate in the Equity student membership scheme, but also offer a way for Equity Student members to become more involved with Equity campaigns. Student showcases have been supported wherever possible as a more informal environment to engage with our student members shortly before they graduate. Organising, Campaigning and Events All of the above activities support our Organising and Campaigning activities in the North of England. Between the two industrial Organisers and the Recruitment and Retention Organiser 363 workplace visits took place across companies in both Live Performance and Recorded Media. This has contributed the recruitment and retention agenda of the Union, but also provided a useful opportunity to engage Equity members in our campaigns and activities. Alongside the workplace visits, Equity has had an active role and presence at a number of industry events in the Northern Area, including the Keeping it Live Showcase in Blackpool, The Magicians’ Convention in Blackpool, Surviving Actors Exhibition, The Take Off Theatre Festival in Darlington, Move on up North, West Yorkshire Theatre Network, Careers in the Arts in Hull, The National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough, North West Burlesque Society, Merseyside Dance Initiative, 24/7 Theatre Festival, Tameside Concert Secretaries AGM and Showcase, Hull Magic Circle, Manchester Magic Circle, Leaps variety Showcase (Hull and Bridlington), Scarborough Spa Summer Spectacular.

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3. SOUTH EAST The Committee

The Southeast Area Committee In common with the other English Area committees, this was the last year of the committee’s existence and the committee ceased in July 2013 at the end of its 2011-’13 term. A full list of the members of the Committee which sat during 2013 is included below. The Committee met 3 times during 2013, in Luton in late February (to coincide with the Annual Meeting of Members), in Oxford in April when an Open Meeting was also held and the last meeting of all on 26th June at Guild House. The year finished with 6 branches operating across the Southeast and for the first time all were represented at one or more meetings either by Observers or by individually elected members. Under the new arrangements, these Branches will meet the Area Councillor bi-annually in an informal networking arrangement which it is hoped will help support and enhance the development of these branches as campaigning and pro-active participants in Equity’s work in the Southeast. The Annual Meeting of Members in the Southeast

The Annual Meeting was held in Luton and was attended by the General Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer. Unfortunately attendance by members apart from those attending the earlier committee meeting was abysmal amounting at its peak to only 5. For the first time the meeting elected 2 Representatives to the Annual Representative Conference : Nicholas Brand and Henrietta Branwell (both serving members of the committee). A motion went forward from the Meeting to the Annual Conference asking Council to prioritise campaigning on the issue of ‘No Pay/Low Pay’ and asking them to highlight specifically the professional work done by Equity members in both ‘small part’ work in film & TV and in student films the fringe, etc. An amended version of this motion was adopted by Conference and Council has since announced its intention to appoint an Organiser based in London with Low Pay/No Pay as their specific remit. The Councillor and Committee personnel in 2013. The Southeast Area Councillor, elected in July 2012 was Michael Branwell. Members of the Committee: elected July 2011 (until July 2013) Michael Branwell (Chair 2011/2013) Peachy Mead (Vice-Chair 2011/2013) Nicholas Brand Henrietta Branwell Tony Dennes Rachel Dobell Caryl Griffith Muhith Hakim (co-opted on resignation of Des Barron) The Puppet Man Mavis Wesley Julia West Dave Whitlam Members attended as representatives from the following Branches during the year: Essex Kent Hertfordshire & District (N.B. Members of E Anglia, Essex, Home Counties West, Kent & Thames’ Branch Committees also attended as elected members.) Internal Equity Business

Under the new arrangements, the Committee was not represented at the Annual Conference although Council did invite 2 Observers: Mavis Wesley and Caryl Griffith were elected by the committee. This year the committee put forward no motion to the ARC but it did propose an amendment to a motion from Humberside Branch, which was accepted and the motion, on the tax treatment of artists working in countries other than their own, was adopted

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

by Conference. As on previous occasions the Oxford open meeting was well attended and lively while contrast to some previous occasions the suggestion of the formation of an Oxford based branch met with almost unanimous approval. It is hoped to establish a new branch in 2014. The committee heard reports of the inactivity at both the Milton Keynes and Wessex Branches. It noted that part of the MK Branch area was now in the new Hertfordshire and District Branch and suggested that the Brighton & Sussex Branch might work to take over Wessex’ members: it was pointed out that this had been floated previously but had been rejected by Council. Consultations on the future development of branches in each of these areas will take place early in 2014. Later in 2013, the new Dorset branch was established which includes some of the western part of the old Wessex area. Working in the Southeast

The recession and so-called ‘austerity’ has continued to have a creeping rather than a catastrophic effect across the southeast. There have been no outright closures of producing theatres or companies during 2013 but several have reduced or are in process of reducing the amount of work they can do. The New Wolsey (Ipswich) will produce only its Christmas show and one other while Forest Forge in Dorset has managed to preserve two tours a year despite loss of funding. Other theatres are increasing the number of co-productions they mount in partnership with either commercial producers or, increasingly, one or more other English Regional Producing Theatres (what we used to refer to as ‘reps’). They are also finding more innovative ways to survive by growing their audiences, such as Watford Palace’s triple bill of new shorter plays. Although the My Theatre Matters! Campaign has attracted much support online several of those theatres in the region most dependent on Local Authority funding have proved reluctant to enlist audience support for fear of having an adverse effect on supportive, locally elected, councillors and officers. More positively perhaps, Proteus (Basingstoke) moved out of its spaces in St. Mary’s College into the Fairfields Arts Centre which is now known as the Creation Space and provides more suitable spaces for its expanding community arts work. Eastern Angles continues to develop its relationship with Peterborough as well as continuing its more established work in Suffolk and the surrounding area. Chichester started its major reconstruction by demolishing much of the visible parts of the Festival Theatre itself early in 2013. Nonetheless a typically ambitious programme was mounted in both the Minerva (not directly affected by the work) and in an extensive complex centred on a ‘big top’ style tent erected in Oaklands Park. Building work is ongoing and is expected to be completed in time for the first production in the rebuilt Festival Theatre to open in June 2014. A threat to the ‘sleeping beauty’ of the Brighton Hippodrome, with its unique ‘in the round’ Matcham auditorium, emerged late in 2013 with “developers” wanting to demolish much of what makes it a viable theatre and promising to ‘preserve’ the Matcham interior by adding an extra floor at balcony level. A campaign was slow to get off the ground but is gathering pace and support at the time of writing.

4. SOUTH WEST

The South West Annual General Meeting was held in March with 39 members attending. It was attended by Christine Payne the General Secretary and Malcolm Sinclair the President who reported that there were tough times ahead. Venues were closing, work was shrinking and there were certainly tough times ahead for the Union. The President reported that in discussion with the Heads of the Live Performance and Recorded Media departments it is obvious now that when we enter negotiations we are defending our Agreements rather than improving them. He addressed the concerns regarding the Restructure with changes to both Council and the Committee and believed that it offered a more focused and streamlined democratic structure capable of much more. The structure will be reviewed in 2 years but can be reviewed at any time. He spoke about the Credits campaign having had fresh success thanks in no small part to Jean Rogers. The representation of Woman in the industry continues to be actively debated, and the recent article in The Guardian had added traction to the campaign. The President also reported that the Equity Website and Magazine had recently won prizes at the TUC. Theatre in Bristol continued to flourish, despite difficult financial criteria. The Bristol Old Vic toured their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to America after a hugely successful run in Bristol – it is planned that this production will run in London, America, Hong Kong and South Korea in 2014.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Two theatres in the region were closed suddenly during 2013, The Brewhouse in Taunton and Weymouth Pavilion Theatre. In the case of the Brewhouse owing large sums of money to creditors including many theatre companies and members. Much of the year was spent discussing how both venues might be able to operate going forward, and there is better news for both venues that 2014 will see them open under a Community Initiative. Television and Film work is showing signs of a recovery in the South West, although nowhere near the previous levels. The BBC have announced a remake of Poldark which is due to go into production in 2014. Broadchurch filmed in Dorset and Bristol was a big success for ITV and there is hope for a second series. Fox Searchlight and BBC Films shot a version of Far From the Madding Crowd in Dorset which did feature some local actors, but there were still concerns about the casting process. Doc Martin (Fowey) did film during 2013 but is unlikely to film again until 2015. The Bristol and West General Branch continued their campaign regarding the local casting policy of TV companies. Despite getting assurances from Julia Crampsie from the BBC that she would attend some events in Bristol the branch were unable to get any firm commitment to dates. In the meantime the branch organised a number of workshops with casting agents for members which were very popular. Theatre Bath and its driving force Luke Emmett organised a conference entitled ‘Bath Theatre Matters’. A incredibly popular event with speakers from local directors and producers, plus Martin Brown (Equity Assistant General Secretary – Communications and Membership) who spoke about the My Theatre Matters Campaign. The Actors Lab in Cheltenham expanded its remit in 2013 with an innovative link up with CULT Cymru (Equity, The Musicians Union, BECTU and The Writers Guild) in co-producing a workshop with the Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales, John McGrath. It is hoped to look at similar link ups in the future. Throughout the year the Cardiff Office dealt with claims for members which recovered a total of £8,530.27 as a result of 25 cases. The number of open cases is increasing week on week in what is a very difficult economic climate for members, against the background of a reducing number of venues. Membership figures for the region continue to be encouraging. There was a net gain of 36 members over the year which brings the total membership to 2,575 or 6.74% of the total number of Equity members in the UK. SOUTH WEST AREA NETWORK As a result of the democratic restructure of the Union the South West Area Committee ceased to exist after its final meeting in July 2013. The area has, however, retained its Area Councillor who now heads up the South West Area Network comprising two representatives of each branch in the area to meet on a biannual basis. The inaugural meeting of the South West Area Network took place in Bristol on the 27th November 2013. Each of the 4 branch Secretaries representing the South West of England were present, Mary Lane for West for England Variety, Roland Oliver for Bristol and West General, Nigel Howells for Devon and Cornwall General and Chris Gallarus for Dorset General Branch, along with Sarah Buckland, David Richey and Cliff Evans from their respective Branch committees. The meeting was chaired by Nicky Diprose the South West Area Councillor with agenda items covering Branch campaigning and Organising. Cllr Diprose gave an update on the current Organising and campaign priorities of the Equity Council and how these fit in with the current activities of the Branches. Branch development plans are being rolled out to the Branches and these were discussed in depth amongst the network, with the plans for the South West branches being undertaken in the early start of 2014, and are designed to give Branches an idea as to how the Branch currently stands and how they can plan and develop priorities on a 12 month basis, and identify areas that the branches can focus on to help them increase branch activities. The current Branch membership list and figures were disseminated and again the focus on how the branches can grow. The Area Network is mandated to meet twice yearly with the next meeting scheduled for June 2014, where the focus will be on the Equity Councils endorsement of a set of 10 point overarching policy objectives.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

BRANCHES Devon and Cornwall General Branch The restructure of the union and the loss of the South West Committee continued to be a topic of discussion during early 2013, leading to motions to the ARC and Council on the subject. The branch continued to look at supporting local initiatives and offer training, where possible, to members in the region. The branch elected a new committee in February 2013 and continues to move about both counties in order to attract as many people as possible to meetings. Chair: Mark Cartier Branch Secretary: - Nigel Howells Treasurer: Wanda M. Blair Dorset General Branch As a direct result of a member raising a question about a General Branch in Dorset at the South West AGM, the Regional Office facilitated an open meeting of members in early 2013 which led to Council approving the setting up of the branch in June 2013. Two further meetings were held in late 2013 discussing the local issues including Far From the Madding Crowd. An AGM was due to be held in January 2014 to formally elect the branch committee. Acting Branch Secretary: - Chris Gallarus Bristol and West General Branch The branch continued to meet regularly with interesting guest speakers throughout the year. In particular it welcomed Tom Morris and Emma Stenning from the Bristol Old Vic to a meeting in November where plans for further refurbishment of the building were discussed, alongside initiatives between the branch and theatre. The casting workshops offered by the branch were very popular and the branch continued to be very active on social media interacting with members in their area. Chair: Matthew Roberton Branch Secretary: Roland Oliver Treasurer: Sarah Buckland West of England Variety Branch: The branch met regularly through 2013 but often struggled to be quorate, despite the efforts of the branch secretary. New initiatives were discussed with the regional office to try and encourage more members to attend and there are plans to hold a joint meeting with the Devon and Cornwall General Branch in January 2014. The branch put a composite motion to the ARC regarding quorums at meetings, which was narrowly defeated. The branch also offered the opportunity for one of the branch committee to attend the ARC as an observer. Chair: Mary Lane Secretary: Mary Lane Treasurer: Cliff Evans

C. INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEES

1. Screen and New Media Committee The Screen Committee and New Media advises the Equity Council and takes appropriate action on any matters relevant to the professional employment of Equity members working in audio and recording and in all areas of audio-visual work to be shown on screen in television, film, games, internet, non-broadcast and TV commercials. The committee also has the power to submit industrial claims to an employer and to settle industrial claims. This committee is made up of representatives of actors, dancers, choreographers and walk-on artists all of whom have recent experience of working on screen. The committee comprises 15 elected members, plus the Chairs of the Stunt, Audio and Singer sub-committees along with a Council Observer. The current members of the Screen Committee and New Media Committee are listed below. Two Equity officials work closely with this group: John Barclay and Drew McFarlane Peter Barnes, Laurence Bouvard-Vice Chair, Henrietta Branwell, Alexa Brown, Christine Bucci, Jo Cameron BrownChair, Karina Cornell, Jim Dowdall, Peggy-Ann Fraser, Tony Gardner, Stephen Hogan, Jay Taylor, Alan Thompson, Bryan Evans (Singers Sub-Committee), Ted Kelsey (Audio Committee). The Screen and New Media Committee

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met for the first time in September attending the meeting were representatives of Irish Equity/SIPTU as part of the closer co-operation between the sister Unions and report was given on the work undertaken by the Unions in area of Film and Television. The committee members faced a lengthy and complex agenda which included the following items : a) an overview of the industrial areas covered by Equity’s Recorded Media department b) a report from the two sub committees , Singers and Audio c) a report on film, television and games in the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland d) the Screen and New Media Committees Aims & Objectives for 2013-2015, e) the Committee endorsed a proposal for the extension of the Equity/ITV Video on Demand(VoD) agreement 2013/14 f) an overview of the television negotiations g) an overview of the cinema films negotiations and h) an overview of the committees relationship to the Annual Representative Conference and the timetable for the 2014 conference The second meeting of the committee took place in December 2013 and again the committee members addressed a lengthy and complex agenda with professionalism and diligence which included the following items: a) endorsed a draft proposal to revise the terms of the cinema films agreement b) agreed the composition and remit of a Cinema Films Working Group c) received a verbal report on the government changes to the National Insurance status of Entertainers d) received a verbal report on the revision to the Equity/BBC iPlayer Agreement which will commence early 2014 e) received reports on a number of industrial legal claims the Union is pursuing on behalf of members f) addressed an ARC motion from the East of Scotland General Branch which calls for at least one meeting of the industrial committees to be held outside of London and g) 2014 ARC motions and representatives 2014 will be an extremely complex and challenging year for the committee who will be at the forefront of the collective bargaining process.

2. Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee This new Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee (VCEC) was formed in the summer, along with the other industrial committees, and 12 members were elected for a two year term. The VCEC also comprises the 6 Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus Councillors and one former member of the Variety Artistes’ Federation (VAF) Executive as observers. Sally Treble was elected Chair of the new committee and Geremy Phillips the Vice Chair. The new committee replaced the Variety Advisory Committee which was in place for the first half of 2013 and also comprised the Variety Branch Secretaries and Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus Councillors and VAF Executive members with full voting rights. The Variety Advisory Committee met three times in the first half of 2013 and sent a motion and two representatives to the Annual Representative Conference in London. The VAC’s motion on Structure asking Council to reconsider its decision and ‘leave the VAC in its pre-January 2013 form’ was lost as were many similar motions on the subject of the union’s democratic structure. The VAC was sad to lose Karin Karina who was the other long-standing VAF Executive member of the committee early in 2013. The new Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee met twice in the second half of 2013 including once with the Variety Branch Secretaries present. The committee laid down its priorities for its two year term and took on the outstanding work of the previous VAC. Its programme includes reviewing all of the existing contracts and agreements to ensure they are fit for purpose in the modern world; to support campaigns to maintain viable workplaces and to establish networks to communicate with groups of performers such as children’s entertainers, singers and circus performers. Members of the Committee: Elected Members from July 2013 for two years: Chris Barltrop, Beano the Clown, Nicholas Brand, John Brennan, Lorraine Brooker-Mays, Chris Cotton, Tony Dennes, Yvonne Joseph, Peachy Mead, Geremy Phillips (Vice Chair), Sally Treble (Chair) Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus Councillors (July 2012 - 2014): Annie Bright, Dave Eager, Mary Lane, Brenda Marsh, Tina May, Rhubarb the Clown. Elected by the Executive Committee of the VAF Tommy Wallis.

3. Stage Committee

The new Stage Committee met formally for the first time on October 17th, with the meeting chaired by Ian Barritt. Elected members of the Committee were Ian Barritt, Bertie Carvel, Jackie Clune, Marilyn Cutts, Ester Ruth Elliot, Peter Forbes, David Horrovitz, Hywell Morgan, Jessica Sherman,Tim Walton, Rebecca Louis and Natasha Gerson. The Sub Committees also sent representatives: Viva Cassidy (singers) Bryn Evans (opera deputies), Sheila Mitchell (audio) Graeme Reid (stage management) and Edmund Sutton and Faynia Williams (creative team). Ian Barritt was formally elected as Chair of the Committee with Hywell Morgan elected as Vice Chair of the Committee. The first meeting of the Committee determined its aims and objectives for the two year term set out below: Overall aim To secure, by all means possible, the best possible terms and conditions for members working in theatre

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throughout the UK. In line with Equity’s “Organising for Success” policy to engage members, working with staff, in active participation on agreed agendas in support of Live Performance Department’s industrial, organising and servicing objectives. As follows: • Form the nucleus of all working parties to work with Live Performance staff to prepare and progress the claims and negotiations for the key industrial agreements. Specifically: • A new Equity/TMA Commercial theatre agreement on the expiry of the existing agreement in April 2015 • A new Equity/Solt West end agreement in conjunction with the West End Deputies Committee on the expiry of the existing agreement in April 2015 • Work with staff to build up groups of activists/networks to support and include as members of the above working parties to inform, compile and help negotiate the key industrial claims including claims in the future for: • Equity/ITC Agreement • TMA/Equity Agreement for Subsidised Theatre • Ensure that the work of the Sub Committees and any industrial claims that arise are fit for purpose and within the Council policy and can be endorsed by the Stage Committee. • To liaise with Council on the implementation of those ARC Motions which are relevant to the Committee’s brief. • To help staff wherever possible reach out to companies and organisations that may be in a position to adopt one of the standard agreements covered by the Stage Committee and engage in any development work required. • Ensure link up with the Union’s other Committees, Branches and other Democratic Structures such as the Deputies Network and their work wherever appropriate, ensure effective communication and help forward those parts of the equality agenda which fall within the Committee’s brief. • To offer assistance to support Live Performance recruitment initiatives in the five key areas ensuring membership density across all the industrial areas • Identify campaigning issues within the remit of the Stage Committee and support campaigns as appropriate. • To ensure with staff the appropriate level of liaison with the agent community through the Personal Managers Association and the Co-operative Personal Managers Association • To ensure the Committee is aware of any technological changes that effect members employment in the areas covered by the Stage Committee and to liaise closely with the Screen and New Media Committee as appropriate The Committee also decided on its priorities concentrating on the scope and scale of its industrial remit. The Committee’s main areas of concern are five key industrial areas; the West End, Commercial Theatre, Subsidised Repertory, Independent Theatre (formerly known as Small Scale Theatre) and work that is not on Equity contracts. In addition to these key areas, the Committee was given a list of all the ‘house’ agreements that exist with individual employers. The Committee set itself the over-arching priority of securing, by all means possible, the best possible terms and conditions for members working in theatre throughout the UK. In addition, the Committee prioritised the important work of preparing a claim for a new West End Agreement and a new Commercial Theatre Agreement due in 2015. Work on both of these would need to start in 2014.The Committee also considered how it would work with its sub-committees, and other Committees, especially the Equalities Committees. The Committee looked at statistics on the amount of work offered in different areas of theatre and statistics on membership density in different areas. The Committee also looked at motions from ARC 2012 that were relevant to theatre– one of which called upon the union to enter into discussions with theatres to offer discounted tickets to Equity members. The Committee agreed to look into this but felt that local branches could be more effective if they helped with this. On the five key industrial areas covered by the Committee the following was agreed: West End, a working party would be set up formed from a nucleus of members of the Stage Committee supplemented by West End Deputies and a Stage Manager. The working party would formulate claim which would be brought to the June meeting for confirmation. Commercial Theatre, a working party would be set up formed from a nucleus of members of the Stage Committee supplemented by Commercial Deputies and members and a Stage Manager. The working party would formulate

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the claim which would be brought to the June meeting for confirmation. Subsidised, although the current Agreement expires in October 2016 and therefore not due for renegotiation until Jan 2016, the changes in NI presented an opportunity to challenge employers on increasing the pension contribution and bringing forward agreed phased pay rises, so that the 2016 rate be implemented in April 2015. UK Theatre has been contacted with this request. When this request was turned down by UK theatre the Committee agreed that working members should write to President of UK Theatre either as a company or as an individual. ITC, although the current Agreement expires in March 2016, the ITC have also been contacted with a request to introduce the Equity pension Scheme, which they have agreed to implement. No pay/Low pay, a new post has been established for a trial period of 2 years to work in this area. Other matters discussed: • Code of conduct on auditions, the Managers have agreed to meet with West End members to discuss the practice of multiple auditions particularly for musicals with a view to revising the Code. Following this meeting more work would be undertaken industrially through revising the Code and through other methods of communication. • Pensions and auto enrolment, the Equity pension scheme has been confirmed by the employers as a suitable vehicle for auto enrolment, although members not opting in would be put in various schemes such as Nest and Now. The Committee’s Motion to the ARC was on the change in the National Insurance status of performers and mandating negotiators to ensure that wherever possible this change was reflected in higher minimums, better pensions and more jobs.

D. SPECIALIST COMMITTEES 1. Audio Committee

The Committee met five times this year and continued to advise Equity on issues affecting audio artists across the industry. These issues range from rates on educational language recordings, radio commercials, voice over work on television and film and various new media platforms. One of the primary roles of the Committee is monitoring issues related to the BBC Audio Agreement and responsible for updating the agreement each year. A negotiating team was elected made up of Sheila Mitchell, Ted Kelsey, David Corden and Stephen Hogan. The team assisted with drafting the Equity claim for the 2013/2014 BBC Audio Agreement and attended meetings with the BBC. It was agreed in the negotiations to increase the minimum rates in the agreement by 5% and agreed to increase all other rates by 4%. These percentages included a new media download usage. These were difficult negotiations with the BBC asking for the rates to only be applied to the minimums and to do away with the knock on scales. Also there was a request to freeze the rates for readings. With the help of the negotiating team, we managed to hold our ground and say no to these requests and still achieved a good increase for members. The rate increase was applied from the 1st of August 2012. The input from the Committee during these negotiations was invaluable. Throughout the year the Committee were consulted about various proposals from the BBC such as special one off arrangements for certain productions. These were primarily regarding an extension of rights for a further payment which were not covered in the agreement. The Committee has continued to campaign for radio drama and expressed concern about the decline of radio drama output. The Committee are continuing to devise a radio drama campaign and consulting with the other Unions. The focus has been to try and ascertain how much of the licence fee is spent on radio drama and to emphasise that more money needs to be allocated to this vital genre in order to create a renaissance in radio drama. The Committee continued to police issues such as late payments from fixers working in ADR (Additional Dialogue Replacement) and general practices in this area. A Code of Conduct for fixers working in this field was finalised and published with the invaluable help of committee members, David John and John Bull. It was agreed this Code of Conduct would help create a level playing field for fixers and also provide support for fixers when negotiating with producers. There was a real victory in the battle against non compliance of the agreement for the engagement of ADR artists in television. David John brought it to Equity’s attention that the BBC and Pact companies were using a company to supply the ADR for certain productions and members were being paid significantly below the minimum rates. A meeting was held with this company and they were advised of the correct minimum rates across the agreements and they were asked to hold the line. Equity tackled the BBC and Pact and asked they ensured this did not happen again. This was done and now artists are being paid the correct minimum rates.

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Work continued in the field of audio description and with the help of Audio Describers Association, a best practice document was compiled. It was agreed that highlighting the best terms and conditions would assist members greatly and also educate certain theatres who are unaware of what they should be providing for audio describers. Laurence Bouvard continued to represent the committee on the New Technology Working Party. Laurence Bouvard, the Audio Councillor provided the Committee with detailed written and verbal reports on the business conducted by the Council. The Committee, initiated by David Corden, has been working on drafting an advisory leaflet for actors and employers working in the field of voice over work. The work on this is continuing. It is hoped this will provide much needed assistance to members but also to employers and casting sites and ensure that minimum standards are adhered to. The representatives to the ARC were Sheila Mitchell and David Thorpe. The motion sent to the ARC was as follows: “The audio committee are worried that the extensive and ever-expanding fields of work looked after by the committee will no longer be able to be covered either by staff time or by their own representation on Council or the committees available to them. In the hope of solving some of these difficulties we ask this ARC to require Council to set aside time on the agenda of their June 2014 meeting to debate the situation with a delegation from the Sub-Audio Committee. June 2014 is 11months into the 12 month review which has been promised”. This was carried at the ARC. A major focus of the Committee has been dealing with the changes within the Union’s democratic structure. The Committee were pleased they fought their corner and remained an independent sub-committee as opposed to being joined with the singers as a Voice Sub-committee. Concern was expressed about the number of members on the Committee being decreased to only 9 members and also only having 4 meetings as opposed to 5 a year. The elected members of the Audio Committee until July 2013 were: Edward Kelsey (Chair), Sheila Mitchell (vice chair), Laurence Bouvard, Posy Brewer, Patricia Brian, John Bull, David Corden, DeNica Fairman, Stephen Hogan, David John, Patricia Leventon, Liza Ross, Alan Thompson, David Thorpe, John Webb The elected members of the newly formed Audio Sub-Committee from July 2013 are: Edward Kelsey (Chair), Sheila Mitchell (Vice chair), Posy Brewer, David Corden, David John, Patricia Leventon, Michael McClain, Liza Ross, David Thorpe It was agreed that Ted Kelsey would be the representative on the newly formed Screen and New Media Committee and Sheila Mitchell on the Stage Committee. They both provided feedback from the meetings of these industrial committees. The Aims and Objectives of the Committee are – • To continue the committee’s long tradition of efficiency and non-partisanship • To concentrate its efforts on improving working conditions of and opportunities for members in all areas of the Audio Field • To encourage full membership in that field • To encourage members from as many different aspects of that field to stand for elections to the committee so that the committee may be as fully representative as possible • Most importantly to react rapidly and effectively to events that may affect that field Particular areas of focus for this two-year term are – • Audiobooks – tackle the ongoing problems in this area such as late payments • Continue the fight for BBC Radio Drama • Work with the BBC to campaign for diversity in radio drama • Devise Advisory Leaflet for Voice Over industry – which will provide specific help for those working from their own studios. • The area of games and the engagement of voice over artists • Radio Commercials

2. Concert & Session Singers’ Committee/Singers’ Sub-Committee Members of the committee until July 2013; Christopher Dee (Chair), Simon Preece (Vice-Chair), Bryn Evans, Tom Emlyn Williams, Sean Kerr. The following were co-opted with the agreement of Council; Nicholas Keay, Annie

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Skates, Rosalind Waters, Sidonie Winter. From July 2013 the committee was renamed the Singers’ Sub-committee and consisted of Bryn Evans (Chair), Viva Cassidy (Vice-chair), Tom Emlyn Williams, Zoe Bonner, Annie Skates, Rosalind Waters. The Council agreed that Nicholas Keay and Rita Campbell could be co-opted onto the committee. Simon Preece attended meetings as the Singers’ Councillor. The Committee met four times this year and it continued to advise the Council on issues affecting singers across the entertainment industry. Negotiations have been painfully slow with the BPI and little substantive progress has been made. We received a financial offer from the BPI but this had to be rejected, as it was below the rate of inflation and in some cases less was being offered than is currently paid. We await a response from the BPI to our counter-offer. The rates for Classical Public Concerts were increased by the rate of inflation in April. The Committee dealt with many issues relating to work in this area, namely low subsistence rates being paid for overseas engagements and unreasonably long working hours. The Committee have continued to stress the importance of recruitment and retention a priority, aiming to attend student talks, particularly at music conservatoires, so that students can be made aware of the issues facing singers and the importance of belonging to the union. Unfortunately, no member of the Committee attended such a visit in 2013. The Committee recognises the difficulty of arranging such visits and considers that moderate travel expenses should be paid in future to union members who assist the union in this way No motion was sent to the ARC from the Committee, although representatives from the committee attended the ARC.

3. Independent Theatre Arts Committee (ITAC) The committee met twice at the beginning of 2013 and its composition is listed below. Frances Rifkin was in the Chair for this six month period. In July 2013 the Committee’s responsibilities were split in the new structure, following the conclusion of elections to the Stage Committee and the related sub committees. The Committee devoted much of their time to writing their handover paper to the new Stage Committee, and the conclusion of the negotiations with the ITC. In addition, the Committee reviewed its role-play work, and concluded that there was no further work to be done in the immediate future in an industrial sense. Thus, the best idea was to focus on producing literature and handouts to improve consciousness in the sector. It should be revisited in a few years’ time. The Society of Independent Theatres (SIT) set up by members of the committee in response to the No Pay Low Pay Working Party recommendations began a dialogue with the union, and sought to improve terms and conditions in the area. Members pursued individual interests in the sector in addition to the above. Members of the Committee 2011-13: Frances Rifkin (Chair 2012-3), Andrew Macbean (Chair 2011-2), Andy Medhurst (Councillor & Vice-Chair), Katharine Kavanagh (Minutes Secretary), Morna Burdon, Norma Dixit, Hasan Dixon, John Gregor, Nigel Harris, Caron Jane Lyon, John Plews, Lee Ravitz

4. International Committee for Artists’ Freedom (ICAF) ICAF continues to provide support for performers facing persecution and campaigns for freedom of expression throughout the world. In the last year the committee has made interventions on behalf of performers in a number of countries including Iran, Uganda, Russia and Turkey and undertook the following activities: ICAF continued to raise concerns about the treatment of performers in Iran, following several threats made to actresses in the country and added its voice to the campaign to free actor Keith Prosser, who was detained and threatened with deportation and separation from his family following his appearance in a David Cecil play featuring themes of sexuality, staged in Uganda in 2012. The Committee also continued to monitor the situation regarding freedom of expression in Russia and in particular the Pussy Riot case. Following sustained campaigning by a number of organisations, the two members of the band remaining in prison were finally released following a Presidential Amnesty at the end of 2013. A number of Committee members took part in the Give a Body Back protest organised by Belarus Free Theatre in May. The protest was very successful in raising awareness about conditions in Belarus, the last country in Europe

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to use the death penalty. In November Equity and ICAF helped to facilitate a visit to the UK by Josh Nyapimbi, a Zimbabwean arts activist and founder of the Nhimbe Trust who had received a Commonwealth Fellowship. Josh addressed the Committee towards the end of his visit and outlined the current situation facing artists in Zimbabwe. Throughout 2013 ICAF was active in its support of performers involved in protests taking place in Turkey. Reacting to proposals to redevelop a number of cultural sites and green spaces in Turkey, including Gezi Park, a broad coalition of activists initiated mass demonstrations against the Turkish Government. Members of the Turkish Actors Union who joined the protests were singled out by the Government and faced threats to their lives, persecution by the authorities and the press. ICAF will continue to follow this situation closely during 2014 and offer any assistance that it can to performers in Turkey. The Committee’s work is generously funded by donations from Equity’s General and Variety branches, committees and individual members and appeals at the Equity Annual Representative Conference. In 2013 a rousing speech from Natalia Kaliada, one of the founding members of the Belarus Free Theatre, raised over £500 at the ARC. A number of ICAF Committee members also raised several hundred pounds through putting on performances of their own work. Donations to help this valuable work on behalf of performers all over the world are always very welcome and Equity members are encouraged to attend and take part in the Committee’s regular fundraising events. Further information about ICAF can be obtained by contacting Charlotte Bence, who will be acting Secretary to the Committee during 2014. Current members of the Committee are: Rosamund Shelley – Chair, Frederick Pyne – Vice Chair, Ian Barritt – Vice Chair, Thomas Baptiste, Yvonne Bonnamy, Henrietta Branwell, Michael Branwell, Morna Burdon, Anna Carteret, Chipo Chung, Angela Crow, Deborah Davies, Esther-Ruth Elliot, Lynn Farleigh, Caryl Griffith, Edward Halsted, Janet Henfrey, James Ivens, Sara Kestelman, Joe Kloska, Adam Knight, Peter Kosta, Karen Lewis, Helen Lindsay, Stella Maris, William Maxwell, Kerry Michael, Robert Mill, Kristin Milward, Rowenna Mortimer, Geremy Phillips, Sheila Reid, Prunella Scales, Peter Searles, Jessica Sherman, Malcolm Sinclair, Terry Victor and Fiona Whitelaw.

5. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee The committee members in 2013 were: Giovanni Bienne, James Hamilton Welsh (Chair), Jo Freya (Vice Chair), Julian Sims, Peter Kosta Equity’s LGBT committee continued to raise its profile and work with other committees in 2013. In February 2013 the committee celebrated LGBT history month by organising an event with member-activist Clare Summerskill to discuss her recent publication Gateway to Heaven – Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History where older gay and lesbian, men and women, told stories of their experiences dating back to the 1940s. This event was particularly important given the LGBT committee’s recent campaign ‘I Can Act, but I Won’t Pretend’ to make it acceptable for people to be ‘out’ in the industry. At the ARC the LGBT committee reaffirmed its links with Council by asking that equalities councillors (Minority Ethnic, and Deaf and Disabled Councillors) establish firmer links with the committee and the relevant member of staff. This is to ensure that the committee’s issues are represented in Council and to the wider union. At the TUC LGBT Workers Conference in July 2013 the committee highlighted the issue of homophobic policy developments in Russia. This was important as it communicated that Equity’s concerns for the LGBT community goes beyond the borders of the union and the UK. The committee is committed to contributing to the joint equalities committees campaign on equalities monitoring in the publically funded arts sector and began to tackle the issue of how the casting process can open itself up to potentially unlawful discrimination. The committee identified questions which are frequently asked in the casting process which break current equality legislation and have begun to resolve this issue by developing a code of practice for castings.

6. Deaf and Disabled Members Committee

Members in 2013: Ann Loraine, Di Christian, Freddie Stabb (co Vice Chair), Mik Scarlet (Chair), Natalie Amber, Paul Henshall, Phoebe Kemp, Simon Balcon (co Vice Chair), Co-optee: Dan Edge The DDMC’s commitment to highlighting the challenges disabled performers face in the industry is exemplified in the motions it sent to the ARC and TUC Disabled workers Conferences for 2013. The committee’s ARC motion called on Council to form a working party to promote the union’s casting policy for disabled performers, promote

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employment of disabled performers, highlight barriers they face, and also highlight good and bad practice in employing disabled performers. At the TUC Disabled Workers Conference made conference participants aware of the lack of opportunities for disabled performers and the need for positive role models in the arts. In July 2013 there were elections for the DDMC and the new committee continued on the path of moving forward the union’s work on disabled performers and creatives. As the first point of business the new committee asked Council to change the committee name to acknowledge the widely accepted social model of disability, as well as acknowledging that the deaf community identifies separately. Therefore the committee is now called the Deaf and Disabled Members Committee. In the last year the committee improved its outreach to the deaf and disabled community in several ways. First, the committee began updating their social media outlets regularly and continues to encourage followers to engage in discussions about the issues of deaf and disabled performers. Second the committee initiated a survey for deaf and disabled members, to learn more about their issues and what the union can do to support this group of workers. Third the committee began reaching out to members via their personal networks for their experiences using Access to Work, as part of their goal of creating a resource for members who would be looking to take advantage of this programme. In addition the committee continued to promote the employment of deaf and disabled members. In December 2013 the DDMC delivered a casting event for deaf and disabled Equity members with a focus on work in television. Equity, in partnership with the BBC and ITV, organised the first ever deaf and disabled focused casting event to encourage more inclusive casting and increase broadcasters’ knowledge of the talented pool of deaf and disabled actors available. Over the course of two days, 70 deaf and disabled Equity members were each given the opportunity to meet four casting directors and industry executives for one-on-one general auditions. 280 auditions took place where members were able to showcase their talent to leading industry professionals with the power to increase representation of deaf and disabled actors on screen. The event was a huge success with overwhelmingly positive feedback from both members and the participating industry professionals. The Committee is also committed to following up with participants to assess the impact of this type of casting initiative. The DDMC began work on developing a resource on tips for how to use Spotlight, support on CV writing, and also providing information on Access to Work. Lastly the committee committed to supporting a joint equality committee campaign on equal opportunities monitoring in the publically funded arts sector.

7. Minority Ethnic Members’ Committee Members in 2013: Daniel York (Chair), Helen Crevel, Irene Ng, Lachele Carl (Vice Chair), Mai Cunningham, Mo, Nicholas Goh, Paul Courtenay Hyu Equity’s Minority Ethnic Members Committee put on several successful events in 2013. In February Equity, Arts Council England, SOLT/TMA, CDG and the Young Vic facilitated held an open space event titled ‘Opening the Door’ to address the issue about equal opportunities for East Asian actors. Facilitated by Improbable Theatre, this event brought together nearly 200 performers, directors, producers, and other theatre professionals to discuss the lack of representation of East Asian actors in theatre. As a result of this event 40 Equity members who identify as East Asian had the opportunity to each meet and audition for four leading casting directors working in theatre and television. With participating casting directors from The National Theatre, RSC, BBC and The Royal Exchange the event was a great success with 160 general auditions taking place in one day. Participants on both sides gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about the event and the Minority Ethnic Members Committee is committed to following up with participants in 2014 to see what impact the event had on their opportunities to work. In April 2013 the committee participated in the TUC Black Workers conference by highlighting the shortcomings of colour-blind casting and reiterated that BAME performers need to be given preferential treatment when it comes to playing roles written for ethnic minorities. Conference supported the committee’s efforts to level the playing field for minority ethnic performers. In June 2013 the MEM Committee organised an open meeting where members discussed ongoing issues with regards to “blacking up”, “yellow face” and equal opportunities for minority ethnic performers. Members who attended the open meeting were surveyed about what they regard as being the most important issues facing minority ethnic performers and the responses provided the committee with insight that informed the formulation of their objectives for the 2013-2015 term. After the re-election of the MEM committee in July, the new committee took steps to improve their communications with members by opening up their social media discussions to include a Facebook page (as opposed to a close group they previously used) and also adding a twitter feed to their communications

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strategy. Both twitter and Facebook feeds are still developing, and the committee recognises the importance of communicating with their constituents and also looks forward to hearing more of minority ethnic members’ concerns. In addition with the new committee in place, committee members have been working with the other equalities committees to call for equalities monitoring in the publicly funded arts sector. The committee began developing a campaign on equal opportunities monitoring in the publically funded arts sector as a result of the lack of minority ethnic performers on stage and screen. The 2012 Creative Skillset data showed the diversity in the creative sectors is decreasing and the committee believes there is a need to address this particularly with regards to publicly funded organisations. Lastly the committee is committed to strengthening the union’s policy on integrated casting and began work on redrafting it so that it remains fit for purpose and reflective of the concerns of Equity’s BAME members.

8. Women’s Committee

Members in 2013: Flip Webster (Vice Chair), Karina Cornell, Kelly Burke, Lynda Rooke (Chair), Norma Dixit, Rachael Fagan, Susan McGoun In March 2013 Equity’s Women’s Committee participated in the Women’s TUC Conference with a motion highlighting issues about the lack of opportunity for women on stage and screen. Given that the committee’s initial research found that there are about two male roles for every female role, the committee asked for a system of equalities monitoring to be put into place for arts organisations. Conference unanimously supported the motion put forward. Equity Vice President Jean Rogers was elected onto the TUC’s Women’s Committee, the first time Equity has had representation on it, she has helped ensure that the lack of employment opportunities available for women performers remains on the TUC’s agenda. The Women’s Committee’s motion to the ARC was on the issue of nudity in the performance arts. Seeking to provide protection to younger workers, and particularly younger women, this matter was referred to the Screen, Stage and Variety, Circus and Entertainers Industrial Committees which considered it again in the light of the response from members in the all-member survey - only 13.4% of members who responded believed it was a very important issue. After the re-election of the committee, the Women’s Committee progressed its focus on the lack of roles for women by developing plans for a joint equality committee campaign on equal opportunities monitoring in the arts, specifically with regards to arts bodies/organisations in receipt of public funds. The Women’s Committee also continued to make useful links in promoting issues about gender equality in the arts. Lynda Rooke, who chairs the committee, made contact with Lucy Kerbel of Tonic Theatre, who is also researching issues of gender equality at different theatres, and contact was made with the organisation Sound Women, who specifically tackle issues of underrepresentation of women in audio work. In addition the Women’s Committee began developing a resource for new parents and is committed to improving committee communications. The committee began a twitter feed and regularly posts updates about their work and about discussions about gender in the industry.

9. Models Committee/Models Network

Following the launch of the Ten Point Code for the treatment of Models at Photoshoots in studios and on location work continued with major retailers and publishers to see whether they would publically support the Code and sign up to it. Vogue was the first with Debenhams, followed by Next with John Lewis, Grazia and Sainsbury’s all confirming their support for the Code. Although other retailers and publishers showed interest in supporting the Code this did not manifest itself in physical signatures. During the democratic restructuring of the Union, the Committee was keen for the Committee to become a network and work occurred during 2013 to make this possible. A number of key members worked together with staff to set up an organising function for the launch of the network, the establishment of a website and a social media presence. Key members of the network are as follows: Alex B, Eva Fahler, Mia Fahler, Dominyka Gajauskaite, Victoria Keon-Cohen, Dunja Knezevic, Zara Miller, Brian Povlsen. The Model Programme met once during 2013. The BFC continue to operate the Models Relaxation Zone during LFW.

10. Stage Management Committee

The Committee met twice during 2013. The Committee’s representatives to the ARC were Fiona Mott and Graeme Reid. The Committee did not put a motion to the ARC but did put an amendment to the South East Area General branch motion. Committee members put in a lot of effort to make sure that stage management members still

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had strong representation in the democratic reorganisation. Stage management will have a seat on the stage committee and retain a stage management sub-committee of 9 persons. Therefore this Committee ceased to exist from July 2013. Members of the Committee Sylvia Carter - Chair, Graeme Reid - Vice-chair, Stephen Burnett, Jamie Byron, Sarah Cowan, Joanne Grabham, Prudence Haynes, Graham Hookham, Fiona Mott, Brian Perkins, Ethan Taylor, Tabatha Williams The Stage Management Sub-Committee The Stage Management Sub-Committee was elected in July 2013, with 11 candidates standing for the 9 positions on the committee and subsequently had two meetings in the remainder of 2013, along with their annual joint meeting with the Board of the Stage Management Association. Members of the Sub-Committee: Graeme Reid – Chair, Jamie Byron – Vice Chair, Sarah Cowan – (resigned in October 2013), Elizabeth Fielding, Prudence Haynes (from October 2013), Nadia Javed, Peter Kosta, Caron Jane Lyon (from December 2013), Fiona H Mott, Brian Perkins, Kate Riedler (resigned December 2013)

15. Theatre Safety Committee

11. Stunt Committee

The committee met three times during 2013 and continued to provide advice to Equity on all matters relating to Walk On and Supporting Artists. Due to the internal restructuring within Equity the committee met for the last time on Monday 17th June 2013. During this final meeting of the committee it was reported that the long time stalwart of the committee Michael Earl had passed away on the 9th May 2013. Members of the Committee shared their memories of Michael and the meeting observed a minute’s silence which was concluded with a round of applause. Linda Hardy and Maggi Hevicon-Thompson represented the committee at the ARC and the committee also submitted the following motion,

The Equity Stunt Committee (ESC) met 3 times in 2013 and the Joint Industry Stunt Committee ( JISC) also met 3 times in 2013. The members of the ESC are: Jim Dowdall (Chair), Greg Powell (Vice Chair), Sarah Franzl, Justin Pearso, Tony Christian, Jonathan Cohen, Pete Ford. There are currently 2 vacancies. The members of the JISC are: Andreas Petrides, Gareth Milne, Gary Arthurs, James O’Dee, Paul Herbert, Rowley Irlam, Terry Cade, Wayne Michaels, Abbi Collins – cooptee, Steen Young – co-optee. There was also the Annual Open Meeting at Shepperton in October 2013.

12. Theatre Designers’ Committee The Committee met twice at the beginning of 2013 and its composition is listed below. Judith Croft was in the Chair for this six month period. In July 2013 the Committee’s responsibilities were split in the new structure, following the conclusion of elections to the Creative Team Sub Committee. The principal business of the Committee was spent on the restructuring of the Union and the place of creative team committee members within that restructure. Led by the Chair, the committee concluded its terms with a mail-out to designers with posters and postcards designed to help members ‘Know Your Rights’, and promote the work of the union to non-members. The focus was on raising awareness of the good levels of protection contained within the mandatory TMA and SOLT Agreements, above and beyond the minimum rates. Members of the Committee 2011-3: Judith Croft Chair), Foxton (Vice-Chair), David Cockayne (Councillor & Minutes Secretary), Sean Cavanagh, Ben Cracknell, Anna Gooch, Kasper Hansen, Richard Lambert, Edmund Sutton, George Taylor, Ian Teague, Fiona Watt. Richard Lambert and Edmund Sutton were elected to the Creative Team Sub-Committee, David Cockayne is a Council Observer.

13. Theatre Directors’ Committee The Committee met twice during the year. John Carnegie and Vanessa Pope were the Committee’s representatives to the ARC. The Committee’s motion to the ARC proposed a new category of eligibility for membership to take account of the changing way in which people enter the profession. In addition an amendment was proposed to the motion put by the North Lancashire and Cumbria branch. The Committee continued its work on pay and agreement negotiations. The Committee worked hard to ensure that director members continued to have strong representation in the democratic reorganisation of the Union. As such, the Theatre Directors Committee ceased to exist in July 2013 but a Creative Team sub- committee of 9 elected members was formed, with at least 2 places for directors. Three members of sub-committee sit on the Stage Committee. Members of the Committee: Ivor Benjamin (Chair), Nicky Diprose (Vice-chair), Catherine Arden, John Carnegie, Di Christian, Simon Dunmore, Clifford Milner, James Norris, Vanessa Pope, Jeff Teare, David Warwick, Faynia Williams

14. Theatre Fight Directors’ AGM and Working Party The Committee concerned itself with communications with the management associations with regards to their to date (January 2014) unresolved pay claim. The Annual General Meeting consisted of no motions, but was well attended. It was concluded that, over the next 12 months (to November 2014), the Working Party would: -Review the Entry Requirements for the Register in order to present a proposal at the 2014 AGM -Review the support and paperwork given to candidates and prospective candidates for entry to the Register -Organise an outreach event to promote the work of Register members, in conjunction with the union’s events official Members of the Working Party 2012-4 Andrew Ashenden – Chair, Renny Krupinski/Kate Waters – in run-off vote for vice-chair, result due, Philip d’Orleans – Minutes Secretary

The Theatre Safety Committee (whose membership includes the Employers’ Associations, ABTT and the Unions) met four times during the year to discuss relevant matters including relevant legislation, recent incidents, draft reports produced by the HSE, stage entrance safety signage, work at height campaign, accident and near miss reporting and other relevant matters. Mark White of the ABTT was elected Chair of the Committee for another term. The Committee are looking into providing improved advice on the effect of Smoke Effects and through the ABTT who found an appropriate researcher and author. In effect this can only be achieved through reference to the American methods, and ABTT are organising a trial using the American monitoring machine. A representative of the HSE has been invited to and is attending the meetings to ensure the best possible link to the HSE. The Theatre Safety Committee is also producing a newsletter to be circulated throughout the industry.

16. Walk On and Supporting Artists’ Committee

In line with Rule 43 this ARC agrees to the dissolution of the Union. This motion was subsequently rejected by the ARC. Due to the on-going negotiations with the BBC the committee’s TV Negotiations Working Party continued to meet, the members being Sally Treble, Vonnie Joseph and Roger Morgan.

17. West End Deputies’ Committee The Committee met seven times during 2013. Throughout 2013 Rebecca Louis remained Chair of the Committee and Graham Hookham as Vice-chair. Ed Currie was the Committee’s representative to the ARC. The committee did not put a motion to the Conference but they proposed an amendment to the motion put by the Bristol and West General Branch. At their April meeting the Committee welcomed Caroline Miller and Helen Laws from Dance UK. As regards the ongoing negotiations for a new West End Agreement, not only did a number of the deputies attend some of the negotiating meetings with the SOLT representatives, but the Deputies Committee played a crucial role in the consultation process which included running two ballots of the West End membership in March and April 2013. At its July meeting Jessica Carter from Dancers Career Development came to talk about bursaries for dancers. The deputies were involved in the government consultation regarding the changes to the NI status of ‘entertainers’. The Committee also had input into the proposal to amend the Code of Conduct for Auditions. In November a bitesize training module on recruitment was undertaken by the deputies.

18. Young Members’ Committee The 2013-2015 Young Members’ Committee are: Kezia Davis, Nicola Hawkins (vice-chair), Matt Jessup, Nicholas Keegan, Nico Lennon, Bonnie Parsons, Adam Pettigrew (chair) and Rebbi Rosie. The committee met once in 2013 and have established their Aims and Objectives for the coming term. They have prioritised recruitment of young workers and students and intend to create a handbook for new entrants to the industry. Members of the committee have supported the development of the student membership scheme and have continued to campaign on the issue of low pay no pay work which disproportionately affects young members. Committee members have attended TUC Young Workers Conference, TUC forum meetings and the Performer’s Alliance Parliamentary Reception.

CHAPTER 11:

STAFF CHANGES A. RESIGNATIONS Emily Paulin - Recruitment and Retention Organiser, Recorded Media Department Sarah Phipps – Administration Assistant, General Secretary’s Department

B. INTERNAL MOVES Kristin Hamada - Equalities and Recruitment & Retention Organiser

C. NEW APPOINTMENTS Charlotte Bence – Assistant Organiser, Membership Relations Steven Littlewood - Recruitment & Retention Organiser, Recorded Media Department John Sailing – Office Assistant, General Secretary’s Department

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

CHAPTER 12:

MEMBERSHIP

A. IN BENEFIT MEMBERS AT 31st DECEMBER 2013 Total Members Male Female

Region London South East Northern Area Midlands South West Scotland Wales International Northern Ireland Europe Gone Away

38,197 19,088 19,109

Dec-13 Total 14,487 8,080 5,377 3,110 2,575 1,834 1,400 388 386 350 210

B. NEW MEMBERS

CATEGORY Actor Film Actor PACT Actor ITV Actor BBC TV Actor Channel Actor Radio Actor TV/Comm Actor West End Actor Com TH Actor Sub Rep Actor Small Scale Actor Tac Actor Opera Actor Theatre House Agreements Actor Guidelines Recorded Media Actor Guidelines Live Performance Actor Overseas Actor Fringe TOTAL ACTORS

TOTAL 40 50 16 35 0 2 40 88 105 89 31 7 6 24 65 337 129 5 1069

% -39% 11% 45% 30% -100% -33% 11% 138% 169% 41% -14% 600% 100% -14% -12% -5% 11% n/a 13.6%

Dancer Film Dancer PACT Dancer ITV Dancer BBC TV Dancer TV/Comm Dancer West End Dancer Com TH Dancer Sub Rep Dancer Small Scale Dancer Opera Dancer Theatre House Agreements

2 2 4 6 1 9 10 1 9 0 6

n/a n/a 300% 200% -50% 80% 25% -67% 29% -100% -33%

100 Dancer Guidelines Recorded Media Dancer Guidelines Live Performance Dancer Overseas 19 -5% TOTAL DANCERS (excluding variety & ballet dancers)

ANNUAL REPORT 2013 2 47

-33% -11%

118

-0.8%

Singer Film 0 Singer PACT 0 Singer ITV 1 Singer BBC TV 1 Singer Radio 0 Singer TV/Comm 2 Singer West End 4 Singer Com TH 1 Singer Sub Rep 0 Singer Small Scale 0 Singer Theatre House Agreements 0 Singer Guidelines Recorded Media 1 Singer Guidelines Live Performance 9 Singer Westminster Abbey 0 Singer Overseas 9 Singer 7 TOTAL SINGERS (excl variety, concert & opera singers) 35 Stage Management Com Theatre 15 Stage Management Sub Rep 24 Stage Management Small Scale 10 Stage Management Guidelines 15 Stage Management Opera & Ballet 2 Stage Management Variety 3 Stage Management Overseas 3 Stage Management West End 10 Stage Management House Agreements 2 Stage Management Fringe 0 TOTAL STAGE MANAGEMENT 84 Variety 248 Variety Singer 143 Variety Dancer 99 Circus 214 TOTAL VARIETY 704 Ballet Dancer 36 Concert Singer 6 Opera Singer 17 Theatre Director 35 Choreographer 10 Theatre Designer 15 Model TV Presenter 5 Radio Presenter 4 Audio Artist 34 TOTAL OTHER CONTRACTS 191 Walk-on 74 Youth Member Upgrade 0 Graduate 785 TOTAL 3060

n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 300% n/a -100% n/a n/a n/a 350% n/a 80% 0% 118.8% 15% 41% 67% -38% 0% -63% n/a 0% -50% n/a 0.0% -15% 4% 11% 22% 1.3% 44% -25% -32% 17% -38% -32% 26% -62% -43% -19% -9.5% -29.5% -100% 15.3% 7.0%

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CHAPTER 13:

OTHER BENEFITS A. BENEVOLENT FUND £24,235.50 was paid out by way of grants and loans to members during 2013. Members are reminded that, if they are in financial hardship, they can apply to the Honorary Treasurer for help from the Equity Benevolent Fund.

B. FOREIGN LANGUAGE REGISTERS

The registers, which are maintained at Equity’s head office, continued to be used by employers requiring artists who are able to speak a foreign language fluently with an authentic accent and often to take direction in a foreign language.

C. INSURANCE The Members’ Public Liability Cover The policy was renewed with the Hiscox in October 2013. a) Full members remain insured for £10,000,000 limit of indemnity including temporary trips World Wide. b) Student members are insured whilst participating in self-produced productions, rehearsals, profit share performances and occasional professional performances. This cover extends to temporary trips World Wide excluding USA and Canada provided that the student member is usually resident in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. The limit of indemnity is £2,000,000. c) Fire Performers may apply for public liability cover at an annual cost of £64.63 including insurance premium tax and fee. Equity currently subsidises this premium by £26.50 leaving the member to pay the remaining balance of £38.13. d) Stage Hypnotist can apply for public liability cover at an annual cost of £222. 5 claims have been recorded between 1st October 2012 and 30th September 2013. Members’ Accident and Backstage Cover - Excluding Stunt Performers. a) Cover was renewed with Hiscox in October 2013 at the following benefit levels; Loss of Life/ Permanent Disablement £20,000 Temporary Disablement £150 per week payable for a maximum of 52 weeks Facial Disfigurement (up to a maximum) £5,000 Cover applies whilst the member is performing as an “artist” and while in the course of daily travel directly between residence (normal or temporary) and place of work. b) Members who have registered under the Equity category of “Model” are insured on a 24hr basis to a maximum £10,000 in respect of facial disfigurement. Hand scarring is also insured where the member is registered as a hand model. c) Performers Accident MRI/RIB remains at £12.19 per member for £1,000 cover. d) Stunt Performers and Arrangers have been offered cover under their own scheme arrangement administered by First Act Insurance tel 0208 686 5050.Equity currently subsidises this premium by £165. e) Equity members engaged on qualifying West End contracts can extend the Members’ Accident Cover to operate on a 24 hour a day worldwide basis meaning that accidents outside work would be insured. The cost of this cover is £5 per annum. f) The Backstage cover remains at £500. 100 claims have been reported for the period 1st October 2012 to 30th September 2013 with claims estimated at circa £127,472.08 Members who have any queries with regards to the Equity Members Insurance Benefits should contact First Act Insurance on tel 0208 686 5050. Full details in respect of all the above are available either on www.equity.org.uk or www.firstact.co.uk

D. EQUITY PENSION SCHEME (EPS) • • •

Total income from contract related contributions in the year exceeded £4.6 million (+9% on 2012) Total income from personal contributions (not contract related) exceeded £1.3 million (+37%) The number of individuals with funds under management is circa 6,700 and total funds under

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management now exceed £65 million (+16%) TV & Film - contract related income ≥ £1.825 million (+14%) • BBC - £745K (+23%) • ITV Companies - £740K (+13%) • PACT/TAC - £340K (+11%) Theatre – contract related income ≥ £2.775 million (+5%) • SOLT - £1.1 million (no change) • TMA Commercial - £525K (-2%) • TMA Sub Rep - £365K (no change) • House Agreements - £785K (+39%) • Production Cos – staff schemes - £106K (+65%) 2013 has overall shown increased growth due to a number of factors, the most significant of these being confidence returning to the economy and the introduction of new pension legislation which has raised the profile of the EPS within the industry.

E. LEGAL ADVICE AND PROTECTION

The past twelve months have been busy for Equity’s Legal Department. Equity supported a total of 578 cases for breach of contract and 301 cases for personal injury sustained in the course of a professional engagement. We were happy to extend our personal injury litigation service to offer members full cover for accidents that occurred outside their professional working capacity. During 2013 Equity saw a steady increase in the number of claims received from our membership. The existing CCFA agreement continued to produce results through Morrish Solicitors LLP acting as the main supplier of personal injury litigation services to members. We also successfully resolved a large number of contractual claims working in partnership with Pattinson & Brewer Solicitors. The Jackson Review came into force in April 2013 and changed the way some Unions deal with their personal injury caseload. Premium payments came to and end and discussions began with our suppliers to develop new ideas on increasing service to members on a cost neutral or profitable basis. The widely reported Joseph case came to trial in the last quarter of 2012 was finally resolved in 2013 whereby in Equity concluded all negotiations over costs. A significant discount in costs was achieved. As in previous years Equity had a strong year and successfully represented our members in a wide array of contractual and injury based cases. There were no emergent trends with Equity members sustaining injury’s at work in most areas of the entertainment industry. The service extension to injury cases outside the work place saw an increase in claim numbers as members became more aware that Equity could assist in those circumstances. The figures for year ending December 2012 as far as recoveries are concerned are up on the previous year with the number of claims increasing by 19% on contract cases and 26% on personal injury related cases. There were a series of disputes arising against agencies with a number of members experiencing difficulties in being paid within the statutory time limits.

F. TAX, NATIONAL INSURANCE, WELFARE BENEFITS & TAX CREDITS Throughout 2013 we have continued to negotiate for and represent members in respect of benefits claims and appeals. This work covered a full range of welfare benefits from Jobseeker’s Allowance and Housing Benefit through to Working Tax Credits, Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA). One example of this involved a member who had to appeal her claim for ESA to a social security tribunal. She was suffering from chronic alcoholism and was receiving treatment from a specialist clinic but despite this was refused benefit. We were successful at appeal as a result of which she obtained £2,500 in backdated ESA and an ongoing award. This will hopefully provide her with the financial foundation to restart her career. Working Tax Credit claims continued to throw up a whole range of difficulties, particularly those relating to meeting the stringent hours requirements which are not suited to the self-employed with variable earnings. In terms of the key benefit of Jobseeker’s Allowance, the trend of last year continued in the sense that an

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increasing number of members were being referred to the Work Programme and other mandatory schemes at an early stage in their claim. We found numerous examples of members being pressurised to remove ‘actor’ from their Jobseeker’s Agreement and we were able in many cases to have this reinstated following discussions with the DWP. Our negotiations with the policy teams at DWP continue in the hope that we can arrive at some form of sector-specific guidance which takes into account members’ fluctuating and unpredictable work patterns. 2014 was supposed to see the national roll-out of Universal Credit and, in view of this, the department commenced a tour of the country visiting more than twenty venues to inform members about the changes. The most striking feature of the proposals was that, in most cases, self-employed members will be assumed to have an income equivalent to 35 times the National Minimum Wage per week equating to an annual income of just under £11,500 (at current rates). Those of our members who are not viewed as ‘gainfully self-employed’ will become subject to the full conditionality regime of having to look for any full-time work. Our discussions with the DWP continue to attempt to mitigate the full effect of this but we are looking at a very challenging benefits landscape going forward. As in previous years, we continued to run the Advice & Rights Helpline on Mondays and Thursdays between 10.00 – 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 – 5.00 p.m. The advice given covered a wide spectrum of enquiries around tax, national insurance, welfare benefits and tax credits and calls to the helpline generated a significant amount of ongoing casework on behalf of members. A survey carried out in 2013 showed the high take-up for our advice services amongst members. 2013 has been a highly significant year for members in relation to their national insurance status and we have been heavily involved along with other staff members in negotiations with HMRC on this. By way of background, following the Special Commissioners’ 1993 decision McCowen & West v Inland Revenue, HMRC’s view in recent years has consistently been that entertainers work to contracts for services and are self-employed for tax purposes. Following discussions with the industry and in order to facilitate access to contribution-based benefits between jobs, legislation was introduced to amend the Categorisation of Earners Regulations 1978; this brought in a Class 1 NIC liability on payments of ‘salary’, as defined in the legislation, made to actors and other entertainers. Under this legislation entertainers were treated as employed earners in order to facilitate access to contributionbased Jobseeker’s Allowance. Prompted we believe, at least in part, by the ITV Services Limited and The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs decision of 7th February 2012 in the Upper Tax Tribunal, the HMRC Consultation document ‘National Insurance and Self-employed Entertainers’ was published on 15th May 2013 with the aim of getting views from stakeholders on the future application of NICs to entertainers. Out of a total of 11,814 individual responses to the consultation, only 552 were actors and, of those, only 85 were against the removal of Class 1 national insurance liability. It was clear that not all Equity members shared the same view in regards to national insurance categorisation and Equity’s focus, throughout the consultation, was on stressing to HMRC, the DWP and the DCMS why access to social security remains critical for performers and creative workers and indeed critical to the continued success of the creative industries in the eroded welfare rights system. Apart from this major area of work, we have continued to advise members on tax matters through the Helpline and assist them in their negotiations with HMRC on a wide range of tax issues including registration as selfemployed, filling in the tax return; tax liabilities and payment deadlines; inability to pay tax that is due; payments on account; expenses claims; tax enquiries; interest and penalties; late registration; tax liabilities abroad; the Foreign Pages and Double Taxation Relief; losses and loss relief; VAT; national insurance liabilities; the Small Earnings Exception; how to avoid national insurance overpayments; national insurance refunds; national insurance liabilities abroad, etc. Casework was undertaken on behalf of a number of members who were in dispute with HMRC on matters relating to their tax and national insurance liabilities. During the year we have continued to progress the case of a number of Equity members who are Directors of Personal Service Companies (PSCs) that are being pursued for large quantities of national insurance by HMRC. This matter has now progressed through all the pre-hearing stages and a hearing is expected soon in the First Tier Tax Tribunal. As in previous years, we continued in 2013 to give talks at drama schools which were well-received and we regularly updated our information materials, particularly our Tax and National Insurance Guide which is a publication highly valued by members. We are also developing our website resources and will continue to do this throughout 2014.

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CHAPTER 14:

IN MEMORIAM Mimi Aarden Maurice Adamson Alando Farmer Johnny Allan Rod Allen Howard Allport Lurline Almond Antonio Almorós Carmen Amaya Daphne Anderson Brian Anderson Rona Anderson Gene Anderton Keith Andes Bill Andrews Richard Angas Carlen Angelo Maraquita Annis Alfred Anura Georgette Anys Eddie Archer Edward Argent Pedro Armendariz Jr Sidney Armus John Arnold Howard Arthur Mike Ash Pat Ashton Miss Atlas & Laila Yvonne Atwell John Ayldon Donald Derrick Backhurst Roger Bailey Terry Bale Albert Barber John Barberel John Barcroft John Barrard Marcus Barron Jean Barton Derek Batey Beryl Baxter Jonny Bea Rod Beacham Denis Beards Brian Beasley Ced Beaumont Betty Benfield Mary Benge-Abbott Mary Benning Susan Beresford

Paul Bhattacharjee Narinder Biba Antonia Bird Alan Black Edna Blow May Boak Harry Bolder Keith Bonnington Eddie Braben David Brandon Una Brandon-Jones Linda Brattle Richard Briers Bille Brown Jill Bruley William F Buck Afroza Bulbul Paul Bura Al Burgess Christopher Burgess Richard Burgess-Ellis Ted Burnett Penelope Butler Billy Byrns Sid Caesar Sean Caffrey Stanley Caine Chris Canavan Jim Capper Peter Cartwright Kristen Casper Daniel Cassiel Fred Castle Charles Castle Vivienne Chandler Rosalind Chatto Umberto Cherin Diane Clare Louise Clarke Peter Clay Shirley Cleghorn Basil Coleman Ethel Coley Norman Collier Lewis Collins Dennis Collis Robert Colston Alex Corda William Corderoy Lynn Corrie Scott Cowan

Fred Cox Harold Coyne Paul Critchlow Cyril Crook Chas Crowley Kate Crutchley Cuby & The Blizzards Bob Cummings Nick Cupit Rita Daniels Colin Dash Nigel Davenport Henry Davies John Michael Daw William Dawe Stanley Dawson Gerry De Ville Brian Dean Joe Dee Reg Dent John Derrick Geoff De-Veer Felix Dexter Rosemary Dexter Bo Diddley Judy Dinning Patricia Donahue George Donald Alan Dudley James Duggan Wally Dunn Terry Duran Durra Anthony Dutton Michael Earl Peter Ebert Joy Elizabeth Cyril Epstein Clive Farrow Anne Fawcett Jack Featherstone Jill Fenson Anne Finley Lesley Fitz-Simons Joan Fontaine Bryan Forbes Bill Forbes Debbie Ford Brett Forrest Steve Forrest John Fortune

ANNUAL REPORT 2013 Sonia Fraser David Frost Frank Gardner Patrick Garland Richard Gent Katharine Gibb Ronnie Gibson Maurice Gidney Peter Gilmore Michael John Goldie Goldini Maurice Good Lottie Goodwin Dorothy Gordon Eydie Gorme John Gould Penelope Gowling Victor Graham Elspet Gray Julia Green Harry Greene Barbara Greenhalgh Hayden Griffin Richard Griffiths Claire M Grove Elmar Gunsch Patricia Hall Lisa Halstead Ralph Hamer Dennis Handby A K Hangal Paul Hansard Anthony Hardman Fitz Harewood Chester Harriott Noel Harrison Joan Harsant Jean Harvey Robert Harvey Richie Havens Lynne Hazleden Roger Heathcott Margaret Heery Gerard Hely Barbara Hicks Michael J Hinchiff Denis Holmes Jean Holness Patricia Hooper Bernard Horsfall George Howard Len Howe Patricia Hughes Juliet Hunt Philip Ingram Enid Irvin

105 Dave Ismay Barry Jackson David Jacobs Vera Jakob Clifton James Danny Johnson Chris Johnston George Jones Norman Jones Svandis Jons Ava June Rashid Karapiet Karin Karina Katherine Kath Pat Keen Nick Keir Kay Kennedy Jean Kent Roma King Terry King Kenny Kordell Kristopher Kum Alton Kumalo Gerry Lake Grace Lane John Larsen Joyce Latham Charles Laurence Oswald Laurence Roger Lavern Doreen Lawrence Joanna Lawrence Chuck Lee Ivan Lee Peggy Lee Richard Leparmentier Roy Lester Hilary Joyce Liddell Rosemary Linnell Helen Love Mark Lovell Olga Lowe Robert Luckham Irving Lycett D L Lyon Phil Maggs Charles Marcelle Tony Marks Peter Marland-Jones Christine Marlborough Keith Marsh Carl Masson Jo Scott Matthews Reg Matthews Reginald Frank Matthews Jon C.P. Mattocks

Harvey Matusow Iain McColl Mick McManus Janetta McMorrow James Monroe McReynolds Briony McRoberts Christopher Mellows Ivy Mills Bernadette Milnes M.P. Moloney Tony Morelli Aaron Morgan Bill Morgan Rod Morgan Marianne Morley Rory Morrison Douglas Mounce Mr Magic James Patrick Muir Gerard Murphy Mike Murray Junior Murvin Ray Mystico Robin Nash Stan Nash Hilary Neville-Towle Bernie Nolan Paddy Nolan OT Carl Oatley Allan Oldfield James O’Neill Milo O’Shea Peter O’Toole Handel Owen Marion Paines William Palmerley Stan Parker Leslie Parker-Davies Shirley Patterson Kevin Patton Robert Pearson Josephine Peer Bill Pertwee Arnold Peters Michael Petrovitch Anne Pichon Francis Pitts Dave Pogson Amanda Pointer Yvonne Poulson Jo Powell Freddie (Nosher) Powell Reg Presley Reg Pritchard Prof James

106 Roger Prout Marvin Rainwater Josefina Ray Barry Raymond Darryl Read Lynette Reade Brian Reddy Lou Reed Eve Rees Joan Regan Mary Riggans Don Rivers Jean Roberts Dale Robertson Robert Robson Paul Rogers Alan Rolfe Stephanie Roscoe Len Rudd John Rutland Robin Sachs Shan Sangster Alexander Schouvaloff Robert Scot-Brown Hilary Sesta Paul Shane Phil Shapiro Iris Sharples Olivia Shaw J T Sheds Ted Shepherd June Sherrie Sam Sherry Peggy Shields Jean Sincere Gurdial Sira Jeffrey Skitch Kenny Smiles Mel Smith Robert Soldat Basil Soper Keturah Sorrell David Spenser Humphrey Stanbury Jean Stapleton Graham Stark Starlight Stan Stennett Yuri Stepanov Helena Stevens Pamela Stirling Terence Taplin Noel-John Taylor Izabella Telezynska The Great Arturo The Miracles

ANNUAL REPORT 2013 Len ‘Uke’ Thomas Elizabeth Thorndike Peter Thorne Frank Thornton Richard Thorp Anny Tobin Malcolm Toes Allan Travell A B Traversi Paul Trent Robert Trotter Chris Ulysses Williams Uncle Gordon Robert Vahey Anne Valery Tony Vallance Stan Van Roy Van Dyke John Van Stock Charles Vance Rosemary Vercoe Tom Vernon Tommy Vine Graham Paul Walker David Wall Bill Wallis Vanessa Walton-Bone James Ward Dex Warren Lizbeth Webb Mary Wells Joanne West Geoffrey Wheeler Alan White Terry White Peter Whitfield Slim Whitman John Whitworth Edwin Williams Esther Williams Ivor Williams Barrie Wilmore Rosco Wilson Julia Windsor Anna Wing Michael Winner Shaun Winter Jonathan Winters Mike Winters Cecil Womack Gloria Wood Mirren Wood Rae Woodland Aubrey Woods Jeff Worville David Wynn

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Hazel Yarwood

APPENDICES

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APPENDIX 1:

ANNUAL REPRESENTATIVE CONFERENCE MINUTES

THE MINUTES OF THE 2013 ANNUAL REPRESENTATIVE CONFERENCE HELD AT THE IBIS HOTEL, EARLS COURT, LONDON. 19TH AND 20TH MAY 2013 Present: Malcolm Sinclair (in the Chair – President) Members of the 2012/2014 Equity Council Christine Payne (General Secretary) Equity Representatives and Observers Maximum Attendance: 194 with 37 Councillors, 108 Representatives from English AGMs, Branches and Committees (including 29 first-time attendees), 3 Standing Orders Committee members and 1 Trustee in attendance. There were 36 Observers and 9 Visitors. The President, Malcolm Sinclair, in the Chair, formally convened the 2013 Annual Representative Conference at 11.00 a.m. Sunday 19th May, 2013. He welcomed Councillors, observers, student members of Equity and members of staff to what he hoped would be a productive 18th Conference. He introduced those sitting with him: the General Secretary, Christine Payne, and the two Vice-Presidents, Jean Rogers, Natasha Gerson and the Honorary Treasurer, Bryn Evans. 1. OBITUARIES Jean Rogers, Vice-President, and Natasha Gerson, Vice-President, read the In Memoriam list of those members who had died during the past year. Conference stood in silence for two minutes as a mark of respect and then gave a final standing ovation. 2. GRAHAM PADDEN, STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE The President welcomed Graham Padden, the Chair of the Standing Orders Committee. Addressing Conference, Mr Padden said that 29 representatives were attending Conference for the first time, Area AGMs were represented for the first time and the Hertfordshire General Branch and Liverpool General Branch were also new to Conference. The North Lancashire and Cumbria Branches were sending representatives for the first time. This was a good sign for the future health of the union. He then ran through the rules for the ARC and for debate and referred representatives to the Standing Orders on the back of the Agenda. 2 ARC Minutes, 19th and 20th May 2013 He thanked Martin Brown, the Assistant General Secretary Communications and Membership Support for his attention to detail and invaluable advice and wished the union a successful conference. 3. THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS The President began his speech by saying that these were interesting times for performers. He referred to Maria Miller, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and her speech of 24TH April 2013 at the British Museum from which one would assume that Equity and others in the industry had been neglecting to make the economic case for subsidy of the arts. However, he had been gratified to find that her speech had been attacked and ridiculed from all sides which gave him the opportunity to continue in that vein. He wondered where the Minister had been and whether she had been listening given that the union had been talking about the economic case for subsidy and investment for literally years since before the arrival of this government. He wondered where the Minister had been and whether she had been listening. In fact, the union had been making the economic case for subsidy and investment for, literally, years since before the arrival of this government and, before that, from the onset of the financial crash. The union’s Manifesto for Theatre campaign and the ‘Theatre Works Don’t Wreck It!’ postcards, which members had been sending to their MPs and which the union, especially Stephen Spence, the Assistant General Secretary (Industrial and Organising), had been flourishing at every suitable opportunity, concentrate on and, in fact, emphasise this very economic case. On several occasions, the President said that he, personally, and Equity had been criticised for over-emphasising the economic argument and had been urged to concentrate on arguments concerned with the spiritual health of the nation. He said that the “spiritual” argument, for want of a better word, was an essential one which had to be made again and again. However, for a government minister to call on the union to put an argument to government that we had been putting to government for years, to criticise us for not doing what we had been precisely and exhaustively doing, was at least foolish and, at worst, contemptible. In addition, the General Secretary, Christine Payne, had written to Maria Miller to congratulate her on her appointment and had subsequently suggested

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a meeting on more than one occasion only to be ignored. If the minister wanted to hear the economic case, it might be wise to meet with those who could make that case – instead she had chosen to make a fool of herself. This gives Equity no satisfaction at all; we want to work constructively with those who have the power and responsibility to protect our industries. Our interesting times produced another flurry closer to home. This was the debate over the proposed West End Agreement. This was worth examining in a little detail as it revealed new ways in which Equity and its members talked to each other, worked through important industrial issues and could come to some final agreement; it revealed the new power of the social media, the way that our proceedings, through consultation and committee, could be derailed from left field by deep concerns, indeed anger, and how we had to respond and respond quickly. He reminded representatives that a new West End Agreement had been reached with SOLT that included the prize of the return of the non-leading understudy responsibility payment, better sick pay conditions and a modest pay increase. In return, Equity had inevitably had to make concessions including arrangements for a second Sunday performance, our assessment being that such performances were extremely unlikely to become usual. The West End Deputies Committee ratified this as did the companies themselves as we went around and explained the new arrangements. Then, only ten days before the agreement was due to be ratified, there was an outcry on the Social Media from members who were worried about the compulsory second Sunday show. Bertie Carvel, about to open in Matilda in New York, and others were alarmed by this and as the alarm turned to anger, the mood of the company meetings changed and though the subsequent ballot still produced a majority for the new deal, it was not an emphatic result and too many loyal members were unhappy. Our team, led brilliantly by Hilary Hadley and Virginia Wilde, adapted, went back to SOLT and were able to agree a modified deal. The President said that he had no complaint to make about Bertie Carvel himself or the others who had joined him in this social media storm. It was their union, they pay their dues and they would have to work under the new arrangements. However, despite the extensive consultation with companies, committees and Working Parties, there was still a sizeable number of members who had been left feeling ignorant and, indeed, completely in the dark about what was going on. This ignorance had led to massive ill feeling and intemperance in some quarters and, obviously, there were lessons to be learnt from this. The President then went on to discuss the new structure. He said that one of the reasons for these proposals had been the disconnect between the union, both staff and activists, and the profession. The profession, even those who assiduously paid their dues, were not interested in the internal workings of the union and probably did not read their emails or look at our website which would tell them what was going on. They certainly had no interest in the extensive and often bitter debate about our structure. The turnout in the referendum was poor and we know that most members’ main concern is that the union negotiates good deals and that there is someone there to help them when they are in trouble. The President said that his hope was that the new structure would begin to bridge the divide between the profession and the union which had been his overriding concern ever since had had stood for this office and was indeed the main reason why he had stood in the first place. We will see how these three new Industrial Committees work out but he was very pleased to say that several of those, including Bertie Carvel, who had led the charge on a union, which they felt was out of touch, had decided to stand for these committees so this was a positive result. There were also a gratifying number of younger members who were standing. The Council before had seen a number of new young members, many of whom did not stand again, frustrated by much of Council business. The Young Member initiative started with a party under The Arches at London Bridge but it now threatened to peter out if we were not careful in the face of our somewhat slow and occasionally pedantic way of conducting ourselves. This new structure, dominated as it would be by working members concentrating on the areas in which they spend their working lives, would hopefully begin to address some of these frustrations. The President said that the interesting times he had referred to earlier included what was happening in our workplaces. He said that John Barclay, Head of Recorded Media, had told him earlier in the year that in the past the union would enter into negotiation to improve our agreements but now we were fighting to defend them. This was true across the board in Stage, Screen and Variety, not to mention all the new media which were springing up and which needed our skills. Globalisation affects our work as it affects everyone else’s; co-productions were becoming the norm, work in film and TV was shifting to other jurisdictions to escape our contracts; even governments were now having to subsidise Hollywood studios to attract business. Presumably those studios, unlike us, do put the economic arguments in a way that this government would understand. In theatre, the big national companies thrive, the smaller provincial companies suffer, the dominance of the great metropolitan centres, principally London of course, threatens to crowd out, starve even, crucial work beyond the M25. Big, fashionable organisations can attract sponsorships which neglects the smaller, though essential work,

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being done elsewhere. Moreover, the continuing difficulties local government now has in funding and supporting their local theatres threatens real trouble. He said he was aware Daniel Evans would be speaking on this later. He had recently talked to members in a well-regarded regional theatre who could not afford to have their Equity pension deducted as money was too tight. This was why local fights by our activists to preserve what they have were so inspiring: Peter Rylands, in Lancaster, for example, and Tracey Briggs in Birmingham taking on the BBC. Variety continues to take a pounding with venues closing, opportunities diminishing and even when they survive the economic return has shrunk. There have been modest successes: the passing of the Live Music Act which will cut red tape for smaller venues. However, there is money out there, there is a demand for Live Entertainment. The President wondered what some stand-ups were making in the vast venues in which they appeared. More recently, we had seen an appetite for variety acts in such shows as Britain’s Got Talent, much as we deplore the fact that the acts wwere not paid. The President said that his hope was that the new Variety Committee could address these problems. The industrial work will be organised and directed by those who work in the field. And this will be true of all three committees; this should produce focussed campaigning and the ability to respond and even anticipate developments in our rapidly changing world. The President said that, on the other hand, membership was good, our finances were sound and we have had some success, some of which the General Secretary will be outlining. The union finally got a breakthrough on credits, principally because once BskyB had agreed with us that there was indeed a problem and changed their procedures, the BBC and others also discovered, after years of ignoring our complaints, that there was problem and miraculously changed their procedures too and changed them in a way very similar to BSkyB. Thanks to all those who campaigned during this long fight, especially Vice-President, Jean Rogers, who had kept going when some of us were flagging. We now had three new General Branches, Hertfordshire, Lancaster and Liverpool, always a sign of robust health, and he was pleased to welcome those. Congratulations were also due to our East Asian members, especially Daniel Yorke, for taking on the RSC which had led to initiatives from ACE and a great day at the Young Vic. We must monitor this to see if the promised improvements for our East Asian members begin to materialise. Other campaigns continue: the one concerning the disappearance of older performers from our screens, principally women and the lack of gender balance in our theatres, had suddenly gained some purchase. The North West London Branch challenged Hampstead Theatre on its policies and The Guardian took up the fight as it reached similar conclusions to those our Women’s Committee had been highlighting for years. In addition, the debate Conference is going to have on the increase in nudity for the expectations and the prospects of some of our younger and more vulnerable members is timely. This is becoming a huge issue for us in a world saturated by the obscenely rich pornography industry which is changing our culture in ways which we are only dimly beginning to grasp. The President said that he had only covered some of what had been happening. He urged representatives to take a look at the yellow pages in the pack from Martin Brown and his team in order to get a fuller idea of the union’s activities. The President concluded by hoping that the following two days produced good debate, good decisions and good comradeship. These were tough times and would be infinitely tougher for those who work in our world without a strong trade union to protect them. A trade union cannot be strong without workers prepared to give up their time and use their energies to think, debate and campaign to make the world a better and safer place to be. He thanked all representatives for all the contributions they were going to make to Conference. 5 ARC Minutes, 19th and 20th May 2013 4. THE GENERAL SECRETARY’S SPEECH INTRODUCING THE ANNUAL REPORT The General Secretary said that her job was to present the Annual Report for 2012. She said that Stephen Spence and Martin Brown would be talking to their reports from the Recorded Media, Live Performance and Communications and Membership Support Departments over the next two days and, in particular, Martin Brown would be saying something more about the “My Theatre Matters!” campaign which was a joint campaign involving the TMA and The Stage. This had been described by the new Chair of Arts Council England, Peter Bazelgette, at Equity’s All Party Parliamentary group meeting the week before, as a “profoundly important “ one. The Honorary Treasurer would give a report on the union’s Finances as set out in the Review of the Year. The General Secretary said that when the Annual Report was presented to The Council one member – Mary Lane – had said that she thought that every member should read the Annual Report because the work being done by the union was immense. And it was. She said that Conference had heard much of what we had done from the President and she wished to introduce a short film which would also be available for members to see after

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Conference on the union’s website. Conference then viewed this film, the showing of which was followed by prolonged applause. The General Secretary then thanked all members on Branches and Committees, on Council and on working parties and all the members of Equity staff for all the work done for Equity over the past year. She said that the previous week there had been some good news and bad news and she was going to start with the bad news. Last week, HMRC had published its consultation document: ‘National Insurance and Self-Employed Entertainers’. Its aims were to simplify the future NI treatment of self -employed entertainers. She said that Social Security legislation recognised only two types of earners: – employed or self-employed – and the consultation was about the future application of NI to entertainers who were engaged under a contract for services i.e. selfemployed. The consultation did not apply to actors, singers or musicians working under a contract of service – i.e. employed - for whom tax and NI were deducted at source under the regulated PAYE system. And herein lay the problem. Representatives would know that for many years it has been an established and cherished Equity policy that entertainers working on Equity contracts in film, television and theatre paid Class 1 NI contributions as employed earners. The main benefit of paying Class 1 national insurance has been to enable members to qualify for Contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance and means-tested benefits as employed earners. The consultation document recommended that entertainers should no longer be categorised as ‘employed earners’ with a liability to pay Class 1 NICs and that the Social Security (Categorisation of Earners) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 should be repealed so that entertainers would become liable to pay Class 2 and Class 4 selfemployed national insurance contributions instead. The union was extremely concerned about the effect such a re-classification would have on our members’ ability to claim, amongst other things, the new Universal Credit when that is introduced. The General Secretary reminded Conference that Universal Credit would soon replace not only Income-based Jobseekers Allowance but it would also replace Housing Benefit and a significant number of other benefits. Max Beckmann, our Senior Tax & Welfare Rights Organiser, and Alan Lean our Tax & Welfare Rights Organiser, have been working hard to ensure that Equity members get the best possible outcome when Universal Credit is rolled out later this year. However, as far as it is possible to determine, we can say with some certainty that if Equity members are assessed for Universal Credit purposes as self-employed, they are likely to find themselves significantly worse off worse off financially. This is because gainfully self-employed Universal Credit claimants will be assessed as having what is known as a Minimum Income Floor which is an entirely new concept. This is an amount of money they will be assumed to earn from their self-employment, even if they do not earn anywhere near it. This could be as much as £938 per month or £11,256 per annum. Max and Alan will be touring the UK over the course of this year to provide seminars for Equity members about Universal Credit and the implications of it so that our members know what to expect from welfare reform. The General Secretary said that the loss of Class 1 national insurance was also potentially bad news for members working under our film, TV and theatre contracts which were contracts of service. Whilst the union would argue that employees under a contract of service should continue to be liable for Class 1 national insurance the risk here was that they would also lose their self-employed tax status and therefore become liable to PAYE and not Schedule D deductions. Equity agreed that the NI status of entertainers needs to be reviewed but only in relation to its application to additional use payments not to the initial engagement fees. Additional use fee payments were increasing and were becoming more complicated as programmes were shown on demand and online and, given that these payments relate to a performer’s intellectual property, they are generally very small and infrequent. In many cases, the original employer may no longer be directly connected to the ongoing use or the production. In that case, the responsibility for payment of the Class 1s would lie with the employer who was taking over the responsibility or possibly with any organisation distributing those payments. The General Secretary said that HMRC was consulting on four options – two retained class 1 NI status and two do not. Our preferred option therefore was one that retained class 1s but would exclude any additional use fees earnings from the Class 1 charge. Clearly we had been working very closely with BECS on this and we would continue to do so. However, in this challenge the union appeared to be a lone voice in that the government, the industry and the Musicians’ Union were all supporting HMRC’s recommendation. The government had been persuaded that Class 1 NI payments were a disincentive to investment in the UK and that more would be gained in terms of jobs and investment in new productions if employers were relieved of their Class 1 obligations, not just UK employers but overseas employers as well. The question would be who would be monitoring whether that

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money was invested in new productions, new jobs and new work? The General Secretary said that, unlike musicians, our members cannot put in a substitute if they get a better job and, if benefits were reduced, many members would find it difficult to remain in the profession. Without the underpinning of benefits between jobs they may decide to leave the profession altogether or be deterred from joining it in the first place. She thought such changes were shortsighted and nothing more than a short-term windfall for the employers. Therefore, if this was still an important issue for members, we needed members’ support - and we only had 12 weeks to secure it. She therefore urged members to visit the Equity website and do two things: 1. Write to George Osborne – there is a model letter on the website which carried a simple message about the importance of Class 1 national insurance contributions – however, unless he Chancellor was bombarded with letters of concern from our members there would be nothing for him to respond to. The Musicians’ Union was also urging its members to write to express their support for the HMRC recommendation. 2. Fill in the short welfare benefits survey which would provide us with valuable evidence for us to use in our representations to HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. We had begun work on a detailed and technical response to this consultation and would be working with Counsel and our solicitors to prepare this but without members getting involved and showing government why this matters, our campaign to minimise the impact of these changes would be lessened. The General Secretary echoed the President in saying that the union was living through uncertain times and this consultation document simply added to that uncertainty. The General Secretary went on to speak about some good news. The union had won a major victory in an Employment Tribunal establishing – as the union had always argued – that performers working on a ‘profit share’ production, when they are not genuinely collaborative pieces of work, are ‘workers’ and so entitled to the National Minimum Wage, and other statutory workers’ rights. This had resulted from the determination of five very courageous members. She said that this did not mean either the death of Fringe or of genuine collaborative theatre where artists share equally the burden of profit and loss. However, what it did mean was that bogus profit- share arrangements where members have been exploited would be addressed in cases where our members are working as ‘workers’. She offered here congratulations to all those involved in this success, including the union’s lawyers, Pattinson & Brewer, and Paul Fleming, Equity’s Commercial Theatre Organiser. The General Secretary went on to say that the equalities work of the union was very close to her heart. She said that over the last seven years, and particularly since the appointment of the union’s first Equalities Officer, some real progress had been made. This had not always been recognised by the union’s Equalities Committees but she wished to pay particular tribute to one member who had been involved in the Women’s Committee and LGBT Committee for many years and who was attending the ARC for the last time. Without her the campaign “I Can Act But I Won’t Pretend” would never have happened. She therefore wished to place on record her thanks, appreciation and very best wishes to Joan Beveridge. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MOTIONS WERE THEN TAKEN – SEE APPENDIX 5. APPEAL OF BEHALF OF EQUITY’S INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR ARTISTS’ FREEDOM (ICAF) BY NATALIA KALIADA, FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BELARUS FREE THEATRE The President introduced Natalia Kaliada, Founding Director of the Belarus Free Theatre, who had been invited to Conference to make an appeal on behalf of ICAF and to describe the working conditions for performers in Belarus. Natalia opened her remarks by informing Conference that the Belarus Free Theatre in Minsk had just been raided by the police. In her view, this was the result of a recent speech at the Oslo Freedom Forum where there had been a gathering of people from different parts of the world all of whom had suffered under dictatorships. She said that Belarus was not a country rich in oil or gas resources but could only offer people which was not a popular commodity to sell. Belarus was in her view dominated by geopolitical and business interests and a policy of realpolitik which ignored the interests of ordinary citizens. Natalia described the human body sculpture which the Belarus Free Theatre had created with British artists in January 2012 in London. The bodies displayed the text ‘Fuck Realpolitik’ and represented a protest against what had happened in Belarus in January 2011 when artists had been removed from their cells, stripped and tortured.

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It served as a reminder to Western politicians about what it is like to live in Belarus. She said that such events reminded all of us that we were first and foremost human beings and to made us forget for a while our everyday roles as journalists, theatre makers, nano-technologists or mathematicians. Such atrocities happening in different parts of the world demanded our full attention. She went on to describe another protest which had taken place in London in March 2011 which had been organised with the help of the Almeida and Young Vic theatres. This was to highlight the support of the British Grayling PR company for President Alexander Lukashenko and its active promotion of economic investment in Belarus. During the protest, she had been approached by Louise McMullan and Ian Barritt from Equity who had told them that they knew their story and who had offered assistance if needed. This was both a shock and a pleasant surprise as no such offer of support had ever been received by the theatre before. She said it was vital to support Equity and the work of ICAF to help artistic dissidents living under authoritarian regimes to get the support they needed. She said there were many artists who had been branded as public enemies all over the world who needed help and she therefore urged representatives to support Equity and ICAF and to give generously. She thanked all those present for their support. LUNCH 6. GUEST SPEAKER – DANIEL EVANS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, SHEFFIELD THEATRES. The President introduced Daniel Evans, the Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres. He said that it was good to hear from someone working in one of the most important areas of our sector, regional theatre, which was under threat. Daniel Evans thanked Conference for giving him the opportunity to come and speak. It was particularly pleasing to be asked to address the representatives of one’s own theatre. He said that the week before he had attended the Master Cutlers’ feast at the Cutlers’ Hall in Sheffield where many business leaders had been present. This had provided him with an opportunity to stress the importance of collaboration between the artistic and business sectors. Here at Conference, however, he was aware that he would just be preaching to the converted. He would be offering some insight into what life was like at a regional theatre in 2013. Having been an actor for twenty years, he was most proud of the work he was doing now and felt himself very privileged to be able to say that he was Artistic Director at Sheffield Theatres. He said Sheffield Theatres was the largest theatre complex outside London with three spaces, an average of 7,000 attendances per week, over 350,000 attendances in a year. 80% of the audience came from within a one hour’s drive of the city and for certain other productions such as My Fair Lady, over Christmas, people had come from as far afield as Korea, Australia and Canada. Over 15,000 children came to see a production on school trips in 2012 and the annual turnover was £15 million. In 2013, he said that Sheffield Theatres had won the accolade of Regional Theatre of the Year. Daniel Evans said that Sheffield city centre has been regenerated over the last ten years thanks to enlightened investment in urban regeneration and he was proud of the integral part that theatre had played in this transformation. Formerly, in the evenings, the city centre used to be like a ghost town but now Tudor Square, where the theatres were situated, teemed with people. The Crucible had also benefited from a £1.3 million refurbishment bringing a new entrance, new wheelchair accessibility, more ladies lavatories, a more open foyer, new seats, a new roof and other improvements. This work had been completed done six years ago during more enlightened times. Sheffield Theatres was more aware than most of the cuts that most sectors were having to endure due to the fiscal strategy of the present government. There had been central government cuts to Sheffield City Council amounting to £137 per resident during the last two years compared to £28 per resident in Richmond upon Thames and £15 per resident in Surrey. Alongside these cuts, Sheffield had a cut of £105,000 from the local authority representing an in-year cut of 20%. The Sheffield City Council leader and Chief Executive both supported theatre in Sheffield strongly but they had been dealt a ‘sucker punch’ by central government. Thus they had recently had to close the Don Valley stadium where Jessica Ennis trained as well as libraries and leisure centres and had decreased bin collections. He said that Sheffield Theatres were constantly being encouraged by DCMS to find private sponsorship but the problem was that 90% of all nationwide individual giving goes only to London. He had recently been on secondment to the Royal Opera House where the resources were astounding in terms of their scope, scale and technological ability. He did not begrudge these subsidies as opera and ballet were expensive and essential forms and it was vital to have a national organisation like the ROH to pioneer new ways of working, particularly in the digital sphere. Similarly, Nicholas Hytner had recently spoken about how comparatively easy it was for the National Theatre to raise funds compared to organisations outside London. So there was an alarming and increasing pressure on arts organisations outside of London to use all their creativity in order to fight for their

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survival. However, it was proving incredibly challenging to find organisations who are prepared to invest enough money to fill the hole made by the cuts. Daniel Jones said that he was giving this background to explain what the cuts had meant in real terms: it had meant redundancies, 20 staff members over the last two years, which has led to a huge pressure on the remaining staff, some of whom had had to take leave to deal with exhaustion. There had been three separate waves of redundancy. Secondly, there was the perennial pressure of pricing. He said the theatres were often asked why they did not simply increase their prices. The answer was that they did not believe in doing this – it was surely one of the great benefits of subsidy that theatres were able to keep our prices at a level where those who live and work in the region could come to see a production come. The Arts Council great manifesto is ‘Great Art for Everyone’ which is an inspiring aim which he believed in. Increasing prices was the quickest way of ensuring that theatregoing became the proclivity of the rich and we could not allow that to happen. He said the everyone in Sheffield paid for the subsidy through their taxes which gives them the right to benefit from the theatres’ activities. It was their duty to ensure that they at least attempted to reach everyone and give them the opportunity to come and see a production during the year. Thirdly, there was the insidious temptation to programme a more popular programme. Whilst it was uplifting to see My Fair Lady at Sheffield Crucible which played to 99% capacity or The Full Monty at The Lyceum playing at full capacity, solely mounting productions which would survive in the commercial sector was not their raison d’être. There was a need for a programme which made both economic and artistic sense. Creating new work was becoming more difficult as Finn Kennedy’s report had showed us earlier in the year. There was a food chain in the arts and he said he felt it was his duty to support his colleagues in Sheffield. Another danger on the horizon was the increasing pressure to mount plays with smaller casts, meaning less actor hours. Daniel Evans said that he was proud of what they had been able to achieve in Sheffield – there was a point earlier in the year where they were employing forty-five actors, three stage management teams and thirteen musicians across all three spaces, figures which would give the National Theatre a run for its money, achieved on one nineteenth of the subsidy. Daniel Evans hoped that he had not simply succeeded in depressing Conference – he hoped representatives had been able to get an idea of what it felt like from within the management of these buildings. There were reasons to feel encouraged: they had a play transferring to the West End in the New Year and would benefit financially from that transfer and there was a first international transfer this year of a new play by Mark Bartlett in The Studios, currently playing off Broadway in New York. Educational work was thriving with Sheffield People’s Theatre, commissioning twenty new five-minute plays. Daniel Evans said that it had been an inspiration to meet with colleagues from the ‘big eleven’, the largest regional theatre companies, and to hear their passion, thoughtfulness and concern. He believed that they all cared about artists, writers and designers and wanted to provide as many diverse opportunities as possible. Sheffield Theatres would continue to put on twelve productions a year and a writer’s season where they dedicated all three of their spaces to the work of one writer. In addition, they would be staging a major musical revival at Christmas. It was thrilling to see campaigns like “What Next?” and “My Theatre Matters!” starting to bite – he felt instinctively that the world was beginning to sit up and listen to the sector and maybe for the first time understand it. Questions from the Floor were then taken. The first question read out by The President was from the Women’s Committee and referred to the shocking data from The Guardian published in December showed how poor employment was for women in government-funded theatre both onstage and off-stage. As an Artistic Director how important to you is gender balance in a season of plays and does it ever affect your choices? Dominic Cooke told us we were absolutely right to challenge the status quo. In reply to this, Daniel Evans said that he agreed and that the situation was dire especially for more senior women. He said it was a constant challenge due to the lack of suitable roles such as that in The House of Bernardo Alba. This also affects other roles such as Artistic Directors where there was a lack of diversity not just in terms of gender but also in terms of ethnicity and disability. These issues were constantly in the forefront of their minds when they were designing seasons. The second question read out by The President was how the continuing losses in our Repertory Theatres could be reversed. In reply, Daniel Evans said that the first thing to do was to ensure that our organisations were managerially lean. It was also important to find creative ways of making the money go further – he cited the example of the refurbishment of The Crucible theatre where, because of Health & Safety regulations, they were not permitted to paint and weld in the same space which meant that the sets for productions had to be built elsewhere which led

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to a crippling additional cost. He cited the development in Thurrock which had been funded by the Royal Opera House where all their sets were built and which had become a resource not just for the Opera House but for other surrounding arts organisations. He was hoping to establish something similar in Yorkshire. This was also happening with the National Theatre which was assisting other theatres with box office services. The problem was that the weekly Repertory system was simply too expensive to run these days. A third possible solution was greater collaboration with companies that did not have a fixed built space to operate in. The President thanked Daniel Evans for being the Guest Speaker and this was followed by prolonged applause. 7. LIVE PERFORMANCE REPORT FROM STEPHEN SPENCE, ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY, INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANISING Stephen Spence commended the report of the Live Performance department to Conference. He wished to extend enormous thanks for the staff of the department under the leadership of Hilary Hadley and to the regional and national officers. He also wished to thank activists for all their work during the year. He said that Equity was continuing to develop as a progressive, campaigning, organising union as had been demonstrated by staff and activists working together on the ‘Organise for Success’ and the ‘Invest for Success’ campaigns. Both these campaigns made the case for government investment in the arts, something that seemed to be understood better in Scotland than in London. The TUC “A Future that works” march and the Irish Congress march in Belfast used broader platforms to get the Live Performance message across that £120 million of government investment generated £25 billion of economic activity. In “My Theatre Matters!”, the union was working with employers and The Stage to link cultural workers with cultural consumers and activating both to get the message to councils that their money is crucial. In the ‘Keep Pubs Open’ campaign we were working with CAMRA through the Equity Variety Branches to keep pubs and variety workplaces open in the South-West of England. He went on to say that the union had succeeded in obtaining further amendments to the Licensing Act to exempt venues which held less than 500 and to protect travelling entertainment from the effects of the Act in England and Wales. In the case of Westminster Council, Variety and West End Theatre councillors were able to lobby to stop prohibitive parking charges that cultural workers were being forced to pay. Under the heading of Low Pay/No Pay, the union had been involved in successful employment tribunal cases which put those who offered bogus profit share agreements on notice. This success was gained in the context of the union’s lobbying of the Low Pay Commissioners and HMRC to make it easier for the union to take action on NMW cases. There was a new website resource on the Equity website offering advice on contracts, employment status and partnerships. All of this had been achieved by professional trade union officials working in partnership with members, deputies, activists and councillors through working parties, a campaigners’ network, a deputies’ network, deputies’ committees and, in the future, the new, streamlined and industrially-focussed committees. Stephen Spence went on to describe other achievements during the year in the Live Performance field which included an agreement in Commercial Theatre with a 10% pay rise for members, a new agreement in Independent Theatre with an extra £10 each year on the minimum and new arrangements for the creative team and a West End agreement which recovered the understudy payment and secured a modest increase in the context of a robust and democratic debate on Sunday working which both protects West End workers and gives the industry flexibility. Other objectives were to reach a global agreement for workers on cruise ships, ensuring that circus entertainers could continue to educate their children within the circus community, the organising of a pop video for dancers combined with a meeting organised for 300 commercial dancers and the extension of the models’ Code of Practice. Stephen Spence said that in times of austerity the union had to be even more inventive to ensure that members’ interests were protected. The union was putting its members first and more and more of them were getting involved but progress was still hanging by a thread in these times of austerity. It was important for the union to look to its own history and traditions, to respect the past in its proper place but, at the same time, to focus our full attention on the future. We seek to build on past achievements but the future is different from the past and calls for different approaches. The role of trade unions was to organise workers through collective bargaining and campaigning. Organised labour gets better results than unorganised labour and whilst our workforce were professional artists they were also workers for organising purposes. 12 ARC Minutes, 19th and 20th May 2013 Stephen Spence concluded by saying that staff, activists and members needed to organise for the future through

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the new structure of the three Industrial Committees, Specialist Committees, Equality Committees, Branches and Networks to harness the workforce in all its diversity into a stronger, conscious, collective community that will not only face the future with pride but will meet the challenges and organise for success. Motions on Theatre were now taken (see Appendix). Motions on Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus (see Appendix). 8. HONORARY TREASURER’S SUBMISSION OF ACCOUNTS AND BALANCE SHEET FOR 2012 The Honorary Treasurer, Bryn Evans, opened his address by saying that the aim of any organisation when dealing with its finances must be to balance the books, to seek to ensure that expenditure does not outstrip income. Equity’s accounts for 2012 were therefore disappointing as we did not achieve this; we had to declare an operating deficit of £3,954. However, he said that this was due to an exceptional item of expenditure as he would demonstrate. He said that representatives would be aware that members could apply to the union for legal protection. In 2008 three of Equity’s members sought legal protection because they had been seriously defamed on their agent’s website. Having received legal advice from a barrister that our members had a strong case, the Equity Council agreed to grant them legal protection. This defamation case finally reached the Royal Courts of Justice in October 2012. As expected, our members won their case; they had been defamed. However it emerged that one of the three members, Craig Joseph, had lied; he had lied to Equity, to the legal team and, crucially, he had lied in his witness statement to the Court. As a consequence, the judge awarded the defence 75% of their costs. We have been advised that these costs, payable by Equity, should amount to somewhere between £500,000 and £600,000 plus VAT. In the accounts for 2012, the costs of the defamation case are shown as £566,000 – our best estimate at the beginning of this year. The Honorary Treasurer said that it was both appalling and incredibly stupid that a member of this union thought it appropriate to lie to us and to the High Court. He said that, for legal reasons, he was not able at this time to indicate to representatives the actions that we may be able to take against these three members and, particularly, against Craig Joseph. However, at the appropriate time, all avenues would be explored. But for this exceptional and unexpected item of expenditure, Equity would have achieved an operating surplus in 2012. He then turned to the figures detailed in the Annual Accounts. In 2012 our total Income was £6,087,986 – an increase on the previous year of £122,429 or 2.05%. Our Expenditure was £6,091,940 – an increase of £803,887 or 15.2%. That is an alarming increase but of course the additional sum of £803,887 contained the £566,000 that relates to the defamation case. Despite this we were able to accommodate most of our expenditure within budget and our operating deficit was only £3,954. In 2012, the union made a profit on the sale of investments of £30,412. The actuarial loss in respect of the Staff Pension Scheme was £917,000 which was better than in the previous year when the actuarial loss was £1,633,000. The liability of the Pension Scheme had increased because of changes in actuarial expectations and because of volatility in market values. A full valuation of the scheme took place during 2012. The overall deficit for the year was £890,542 – represented by the operating deficit of £3,954 plus the total of “other recognised gains and losses” of £886,588. This meant that, as at 31 December 2012, our net assets had reduced to a figure of £6,965,699. The Honorary Treasurer then went on to look at some of the details contained in the accounts. Subscription income, the core funding of the union, was £4,209,645, an increase of £281,031 or 7.15% on 2011. There were two reasons for this: subscription rates went up by 5% from January 2012 and there was a net increase of 644 in our membership. Income related to Members and other performers came to £1,269,275, a decrease of £24,354 compared to the previous year. The Honorary Treasurer was pleased to report that our investment income in 2012 came to £467,029, £44,752 higher than in 2011. The value of our investments, as at 31 December 2012, was £7,231,568, nearly £650,000 more than in 2011. The reason for this was due to a partial recovery in world stock markets but also reflected well on the managing of our portfolio by Newton Investment Management. Total staff costs came to £2,827,567, an increase of £75,348, or 2.74% on the previous year. Equity spent a total of £1,296,536 on benefits to members. This was a much larger figure than in previous years but this had of course been skewed by the legal costs of the defamation case to which he had already referred. A total of £702,095 was spent on legal protection granted to members; contained within this figure were the costs of the defamation case of £566,000. We spent £33,222 on Funeral Benefit and £27,223 on financial assistance from the Benevolent Fund to 176 members of the union. We also provide two insurance policies – Accident and Backstage insurance and

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Public Liability insurance of £10 million pounds for every Equity member. These two policies cost the union a total of £307,148. The sum of £58,357 was spent on the Equity website during 2012. The Honorary Treasurer said that he had been asked how much of this expenditure related to the development of the Online Branch which was announced at last year’s ARC. The answer is that a total of £27,297 related to the Online Branch. He said that Martin Brown, the Assistant General Secretary, Communications & Membership Support, would be giving on update on this project in his report to the Conference on Monday morning. The Honorary Treasurer said that all the details he had given re Benefits to Members were of course just a small amount of the work that Equity did for its members. To continue to do this, it was vital that we kept control of both our income and expenditure. He was pleased to report that our professional costs were less than in the previous year - £224,457 in 2012 compared to £248,014 in 2011. Against that, our democratic costs were higher than in 2011, not least because last year’s ARC in Birmingham had cost us £74,611 – the most we have ever spent on a representative conference. So we needed to stay vigilant. For a number of years, the accounts had made reference to monies totalling some £1.3 million pounds that we have held since the mid 1990s and for which we no longer have adequate or complete records. As had been reported to the membership in two joint statements from the General Secretary and from the Honorary Treasurer, and to successive ARCs by the Honorary Treasurer, the Council decided some time ago to apply to the High Court for permission to use these monies for the general benefit of the members of Equity. The preparations necessary to do this have taken much longer than any of us expected but he was happy to report that we do now have a Court date: our application to the High Court will be heard next month – June 2013. Before ending this report, he wished to thank Duncan Smith, our Head of Finance, and Richard Mason who assisted Duncan. He had found their help invaluable. He also wished to mention the union’s auditors, Hard Dowdy, where the team is led by Philip Clark. He was very grateful to Phil who had given a great deal of help and advice to the union throughout the year. The Honorary Treasurer referred to his detailed written report in the Review of the Year. In that report, he had pointed out that the prospects for 2013 were difficult to gauge. Will the UK economy at last manage to achieve some identifiable growth in GDP? Will Equity’s membership continue to grow or will the cuts in arts funding and the consequent loss of work for our members mean that our membership figures will start to fall? As he had pointed out, he was not able to supply answers to these questions. However, it seemed likely that the prospects for the UK economy would continue to be uncertain and this uncertainty was bound to impact on Equity’s finances. Nevertheless, in 2012 the union was again able to buck the trend of other trade unions and our membership figures had increased. We did not quite manage to achieve an operating surplus but the Honorary Treasurer believed that it was commendable that, despite the costs of the defamation case of £566,000, our operating deficit was only £3,954. And despite this and the increased liability of the Staff Pension Scheme, we still had net assets of £6,965,699. There were many organisations, particularly in the field of the arts, that did not have this kind of financial security and underpinning. The union’s financial position therefore remained strong but, in these uncertain times, the future continues to be challenging. He commended the accounts to Conference. Motions on Internal Union Business were then taken. 9. INTRODUCTION TO THE OPEN SPACE SESSIONS Ian Petrie explained the nature of the Open Space sessions to Conference and how these would operate including the location of the Open Space Board. DAY ONE of the Conference closed at 5.35 p.m. DAY TWO Conference resumed at 9.30 a.m. The President reminded Conference of the arrangements for the Open Space event and thanked Morrish & Co, Solicitors, for their contribution towards the dinner the evening before. He said that the amendments to Motions 15, 29 and 37 had been accepted. 10. RECORDED MEDIA REPORT FROM STEPHEN SPENCE, ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY (INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANISING) Stephen Spence, the Assistant General Secretary (Industrial and Organising) referred members to the details of

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the work of the department in the Annual Report and the Supplementary Report. He wished to thank the staff in the Recorded Media department including the regional and national offices under the leadership of the Head of Department, John Barclay, and to thank activists for their work with staff over the year which continued the theme of the union as a progressive, organising and campaigning union. Stephen Spence then went through some of the campaigning initiatives of the department over the year. ‘Invest for Success’ was about the high returns from UK film productions as illustrated by films like The King’s Speech and Made in Dagenham. ‘The BBC Alternative’ was concerned with lobbying government on the different ways in which the BBC could deal with budgetary constraints as part of the Federation of Entertainment Unions’ activity around the BBC cuts. These included the BBC Birmingham arguments put forward to government by activists, led by Tracey Briggs, and through MPs with the help of the Performers’ Alliance Parliamentary Group. ‘Broadcasting in the Nations’, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, had called for more local jobs in more local productions. Also in England, the union was pushing the BBC to produce a fair share outside the M25 in the English regions. With ‘Low Pay/No Pay’ we were working with Spotlight to stop Film Schools putting unpaid or unfair jobs on their sites. Stephen Spence said that all this activity involved the same model being applied in different areas with professional trade union officials working with activists and members to develop our capacity. At the same time, the department was concluding industrial deals. A 3% increase on all minimum rates had been achieved with the BBC, 4% at ITV and 3% at PACT. These were perhaps modest increases but had to be seen in the context of a pay freeze in the public sector and reduced pay in the private sector. As the President had commented, the union was seeking to defend its agreements. Producers were seeking substantial changes but, although the interim agreements had made some changes to how the agreements work, the aim was to limit any detriment to members caused by these. As the engagers sought what they referred to as ‘efficiency’ and ‘flexibility’, it was important for the union to put a monetary value on any such changes and to protect members’ interests. He had no doubt that the next stage after the interim agreements would be more difficult. Stephen Spence went on to talk about the Repeats Escalator in the agreements which set a rate for work which was repeated. In effect, engagers rarely pay out on it as they cannot afford to and the consensus was that it was destined to stop repeats in favour of new productions. Broadcasters in particular are seeking to repeat work more – indeed a 20% cut to the BBC requires them to. Our members can make more from repeats. However, US product is available for £2,000 to £3,000 an hour in some cases because US product maximises revenue from repeats after a while. The engagers and Equity want to see more UK Drama product on screen rather than more animal documentaries. Thus Equity seeks to arrive at a price in consultation with the agents and seeks to reach “win win” deals as we have managed to do in Only Fools and Horses and Keeping Up Appearances. We can only make the best out of what is there and seek to influence and control what is within our power. Stephen Spence then dealt with the issue of Collective Licence agreements for members for repeat players, laptops, tablets and all sorts of technology delivering Video on Demand. The starting point for the engager is usually that this use should be included in the initial fee but the union sought additional fees. Thus the union is pulling money in month after month for distribution by BECS. The union is also generating income for members on film – we go the USA and talk to the studios, seek audits and reach agreement. This work can net millions which can then be distributed to performers. This was the union extracting a better priced for organised labour through negotiation and contract enforcement. Other activities of the department included talking to the BPI about our new agreements for singers, with radio stations about new agreements there, conducting a 100% campaign for recruitment in television, preparing to develop a claim for the Cinema Films agreement in 2014, advancing the TV Commercials protocol and reaching agreements with BSkyB and Channel 4. The only limit to where we can go in Recorded Media was in terms of our staffing resources and activist spread. The Screen Committee, supplemented by the Audio Committee, the Singers’ Committee, other committees, branches, networks and cast forums will work with professional trade union officials to develop the union’s work even further. We were linked to European and North American unions by the International Federation of Actors and beyond that to unions worldwide. This network ensures that films like The Hobbit are not made solely on the employers’ terms. Stephen Spence concluded by saying that the future was an undiscovered country. Recorded Media in Equity was now working in a way which would enable us to meet those challenges and stay ahead of the game and ready to engage. Equity was open for business in Recorded Media. Motions on Recorded Media were then taken.

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11. COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT REPORT FROM MARTIN BROWN, ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT Martin Brown, the Assistant General Secretary for Communications and Membership Support, referred to his written report on the work of the department and said that he hoped representatives would agree that it represented an impressive record of work over the past year. He said that his objective was to speak briefly about the development of the Online Branch and then focus on the “My Theatre Matters!” campaign. He said that the online branch would be the first in the world for any trade union as far as we knew. Equity was pioneering this completely new idea which would be an invaluable way for members to stay in touch if they could not get to regular branch meetings or chose not to go. The Online Branch Working Party was a dedicated group of members who had been grappling with the advanced technology involved in the concept of an online branch and giving thought to how participatory democracy could be replicated online. The union had hoped to have a working model ready by the Conference but the complexity of the task, changes on the Working Party and some technical problems with the main Equity website made this impossible. After a meeting with web developers earlier that week, Martin Brown said that he was hoping that a working model would be available for testing soon. He thanked the members of the Working Party for dedicating so much of their time to this really difficult task. Martin Brown then turned to the “My Theatre Matters!” campaign – he said that we had heard yesterday from Daniel Evans about the effect of local authority cuts on regional theatres. The fifty councils with the biggest cuts are all Labour councils, the top of the list being Hackney with cuts of £266 per head from April 2013. The fifty councils with the smallest cuts are overwhelmingly Tory Councils, the bottom of the list being North Dorset Council with a cut per head of £2.70 per head. Labour Hackney had therefore suffered a cut one hundred times greater than that of Tory North Dorset. He asked whether a union without political affiliations like Equity should be concerned about this political vindictiveness. He thought we should because our Council-funded theatres were mostly situated in these urban, mostly Labour-controlled, areas. He said that some Council leaders were saying that by 2018 they would not be able to afford statutory provision on things like housing and social services, let alone the discretionary spending for the arts. Somerset had already announced a 100% cut to arts funding and they had been followed by Westminster, Newcastle and Moray although Newcastle had since stepped back from the brink. All of this meant that local councils were facing a perfect storm – Arts Council cuts started in 2011 and more came in April this year, business sponsorship was declining, rapidly outside of London, box offices were under pressure as audiences felt the pinch and local authorities were beginning to see arts funding as an easy target for cuts. It was in this context that Equity had launched the “My Theatre Matters!” campaign with the Theatrical Management Association and The Stage. The objective was to persuade councils that the arts were not an easy target for cuts and the campaign was seeking to do this by engaging with audiences who were both council tax payers and voters. If Councils became concerned that cutting funding to theatres would cost them votes then the campaign had a chance of being successful. The campaign was being advanced through badges, posters, postcards, programme articles, advertisements and audience members were being encouraged to sign up to the campaign via the Equity website and to write to their local councils. Importantly, Equity members were also making curtain speeches to get audiences involved - this had already happened at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough and during the Reduced Shakespeare Company tour. He wished to extend huge thanks to those working members who had taken up the campaign with such enthusiasm. Martin Brown said that the campaign had been launched in the spring of 2013 and would run into 2014. The union would marshal opposition to the cuts as they were announced and would make use of a database being developed in conjunction with the campaign. Martin Brown said that the database would be a vital tool and would have assisted in helping to mobilise support against the cuts already made in Somerset. Equity’s role was to help fund the campaign, draft campaign literature and organise members but the key role was that of the members themselves who needed to get out into theatres up and down the UK to encourage them to support the campaign and work with them in supporting their audiences. He urged all representatives to sign up, if they had not done so already, and to make a list of theatres in their local area to see if they had signed up yet. A list of participating theatres was on the Equity website. Next month, representatives could talk to their local organiser about working with theatres on delivering the campaign or, for those members who were working in theatres, coordinate a curtain speech with other cast members. The union was aiming to mobilise the theatre-going public across the UK. Martin Brown said that if the union failed to do this there would not be theatres to campaign for in the future and hence no theatres offering work for members. Martin Brown concluded by thanking the members of his department for all their hard work over the year and asked Representatives to show their appreciation for this hard work.

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MOTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT WERE THEN TAKEN. MOTIONS ON STRUCTURE WERE THEN TAKEN. After Motion 21, Council was informed of those three members who had been offered Honorary Life Membership. 12. HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP The President said that all three recipients of the awards had been members for more than forty years, two having joined in 1966 and the other in 1967. The first recipient was Jill Lamède who had been a member of the Council, representing Walk-On and Supporting Artists, from 1992-2004. She had been one of the first members of the Women’s Committee and a member and Chair of the Walk-On Committee for fifteen years. She had joined the South-West Area Committee in 1985 and taken over the Chair of the Committee in 1988, remaining Chair until the present. She was a founder member of the Devon & Cornwall Branch, which had been her idea, and she was at the inaugural meeting in 1986. She has always been passionate about professional training and was one of Equity’s first TUC Union Learning Reps having personally raised over £1 million to be used in training and professional development for members. The President said that, in presenting the award, the union wished to show her its huge and heartfelt thanks for all her contributions. The second recipient was Michael Branwell who had joined the union in 1966 having first been elected to the Council in 1979, representing the South East area. He was a long-standing member of the International Committee for Artists’ Freedom (ICAF), an active member of the Stage Management Committee and the Independent Theatre Advisory Committee (ITAC) and had also a trustee of the Equity Staff Pension Scheme since 2010. He was a founding member of the International Performers’ Aid Trust (IPAT) and was currently its Chair, had been a member of the South East Area Committee from its inception twenty years ago and was the Committee’s first and last Chair. He had also served on the Thames Variety Branch between 1999-2007 and was a founding member of the Online Branch Working Party and now its Chair. The President said that it gave him great pleasure to offer Michael Branwell Honorary Life Membership. The third recipient, Michael Mackenzie, had joined Equity in 1967 and had been an Equity Deputy in almost every job he had worked on. He had served on the Appeals Committee from 2010-2012 and was a veteran of many campaigns such as that against VAT on theatre tickets in the 1980s and, most notably, the campaign for a National Theatre for Scotland. He had joined the Scottish Committee in 1976 and since 1978 had been either its Chair or Vice-Chair. He had recently celebrated his final AGM before retirement. He had served on the Scottish Arts Council Drama Committee for six years and was, for a long time, the Chair of the West Lothian Youth Theatre. The President said it gave him enormous pleasure to give Honorary Life Membership to Mike Mackenzie. THE REMAINING MOTIONS ON STRUCTURE WERE THEN TAKEN UP TO MOTION 27. Following this, Graham Padden, Chair of the Standing Orders Committee, updated Conference on the progress of motions. MOTIONS ON POLICY WERE THEN TAKEN AND THE REMAINING MOTIONS ON STRUCTURE, 28-30. 13. ADOPTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS The adoption of the Annual Report and accounts was proposed by Graham Hamilton and seconded by Tom Emlyn Williams and AGREED. The President concluded Conference by thanking all those who had been involved including the Ibis Hotel for hosting the event, all those who had provided technical support for the Conference, the Standing Orders Committee, the sponsors of the event, BECS for supplying bags to the representatives and staff and particularly Louise Grainger for all her hard work in organising the event. He finally thanked all those who had attended and looked forward to seeing them again next year in London. Conference concluded at 4.50 p.m.

APPENDIX: ARC 2013 MOTIONS

Note:- where motions were only carried by Simple Majority this is stated. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MOTION 1: Members with Disabilities’ Committee This Annual Representative Conference calls on Equity to establish a working party to be tasked with formulating and overseeing the delivery of a high profile campaign to: • promote Equity’s Policy Statement on Integrated Casting for Performers with Disabilities; • highlight the continuing barriers to work faced by disabled Equity members; • challenge the disturbing trend in the commissioning of programmes that portray

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disabled people in an extremely disempowering and damaging way; • highlight examples of good and bad practice in the employment of disabled performers and creative practitioners; • promote the employment of Equity’s disabled members. The motion was proposed by Mik Scarlett and seconded by Paul Henshall. The Council spokesperson was David Cockayne speaking in support of the motion. The motion was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 2: Merseyside Variety Branch This Annual Representative Conference requests that the Equity Council raises the profile of its campaign to stamp out age discrimination in the entertainment industry. The motion was proposed by Fiona Martin and seconded by Linda Hardy. There were seven speakers in favour of the motion. The motion was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 3: Minority Ethnic Members’ Committee This Annual Representative Conference supports Equity’s position on integrated casting. Integrated casting was intended to provide a level playing field and to create employment opportunities for performers from all minority ethnic backgrounds. However, particularly in the case of East Asian performers, experience demonstrates that integrated casting can be used as advice that works against the employment of minority ethnic performers. Conference calls for a restatement by Equity of the intended purpose of Equity’s Policy Statement on Integrated Casting so that it works for, rather than against, the interests of Equity’s minority ethnic members. AMENDMENT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee Add at the end of the motion: “and to explore the creation of a comprehensive policy on casting that aims to cover and protect across all the equalities strands.” The motion was proposed by Daniel Yorke who accepted the amendment from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee. The motion was seconded by Lachele Carl. There were two speakers in favour of the motion. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 4: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee This Annual Representative Conference strongly encourages the Members with Disabilities Councillor and the Minority Ethnic Members Councillor to take a broad interpretation of their brief and to become fully cognisant of the issues affecting all of the constituent groups represented by the four equality committees. In order to increase awareness and understanding of the issues affecting members represented by the four equality committees, Conference urges the Members with Disabilities Councillor and the Minority Ethnic Members Councillor to: • establish and maintain regular contact with the Equalities Organiser and the Chairs of the four equality committees; • regularly attend meetings of the four equality committees as observers; • attend the annual meeting of the Chairs of the equality committees with the General Secretary The motion was proposed by Joan Beveridge and seconded by Giovanni Bienne. The Council spokesperson was Bryn Evans speaking in support of the motion. There were two speakers in favour of the motion. The motion was CARRIED unanimously. LIVE PERFORMANCE — THEATRE MOTION 5: Hertfordshire and District General Branch This Annual Representative Conference requests that Equity should seek to include travel expenses from outside London in all future contracts with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera House, and all other large scale and similar companies. The motion was proposed by Jester Jim and formally seconded. Stephen Spence provided professional advice. There was one speaker against the motion. The motion was CARRIED by a two-thirds majority. MOTION 6: North and East London General Branch The independent theatre sector is a powerhouse for the future of theatre and a vast field where many young professionals now learn their craft, but exploitation is ever increasing. It includes a wide range of approaches and collaborative working outside small scale touring, and includes workshop facilitators and companies, performance art, digital artists/performers, solo performers, TIE, YPT, role play, street performance, site specific and other

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areas. However, many of these areas are not organised or strategically recruited in. This Annual Representative Conference recognizes that resources are limited, but notes that our new structure depends on the cooperation and collaboration of active members. In harmony with the motion passed by Council, which urges the Stage Industrial Committee to consider the priorities and issues ITAC believes the Stage Industrial Committee should focus on within the fields above, and that current ITAC members be asked if they would assist the Committee, Conference urges the Equity Council and Stage Industrial Committee to maintain and develop Equity’s work with independent theatre by: 1 continuing to negotiate with ITC and working to get more companies onto contract; 2 developing a structured overview of the sector through consultation and research, to monitor new developments, practices and the extent of low/no pay; 3 prioritising areas for recruitment and support for members and potential members in independent theatre, within realistic time-scales and use of resources; 4 identifying possibilities for new kinds of contractual arrangement; 5 using this work to raise Equity’s profile with new and potential members. AMENDMENT: West and South West London Branch In line 11, after: “current ITAC members”, insert: “or other union members with appropriate and current sector experience”. Billy McColl proposed the motion and said that the amendment had been accepted. The motion was seconded by Lisa Klevemark. There were three speakers for the motion. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED unanimously. LIVE PERFORMANCE — VARIETY, LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT AND CIRCUS MOTION 7: North East Variety Branch This Annual Representative Conference welcomes the success of the Equity campaign to make changes to the Live Music Act, the result of which makes it no longer necessary for venues with a capacity of up to 500 people to apply to the local authority for a licence, thereby cutting red tape and bureaucracy. However Conference recognises that this legislation played a very small part in the decline of venues available to our members to work in. Social clubs and the CIU movement have been major employers in the field of variety in past decades and their decline has led to the loss of work opportunities throughout the country; however it seems that the North has been more especially affected. This decline can be attributed to a number of factors including, but not limited to, ever increasing excise duty on alcohol. Conference is fearful that if this trend is not halted then we will see a resultant drop in membership. Conference urges the Equity Council to take these concerns seriously and set up a working party with the remit to report back to Council with recommendations for a vigorous campaign to raise awareness of the issues facing our members working in this area, and to liaise with all interested parties in the process. AMENDMENT: The Council In line 13, delete: “Equity Council to take these concerns seriously and set up”, and insert: “Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee to consider setting up” In line 14, after: “report back”, insert: “first to the Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee and then”. The motion was proposed by Stephen McGuire who said that the amendment had been accepted. The motion was formally seconded by Alexander-James Fallon There was one speaker in favour of the motion. The President said that following the acceptance of the amendment, Council was now able to support the motion. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED with one abstention. INTERNAL UNION BUSINESS MOTION 8: The Council Despite careful management, Equity’s costs continue to rise and in 2012 we had a small operating deficit. This Annual Representative Conference therefore agrees that, with effect from 1 January 2014, subscription rates will increase by 3.45% rounded to the nearest whole pound. The minimum subscription rate of £116 will rise to £120. There will continue to be a £5 discount for those paying by Direct Debit. There will be a consequential rise in the Entrance Fee from £27 to £28. 23 ARC Minutes, 19th and 20th May 2013 AMENDMENT: South and South East London General Branch Insert at the end of the motion: “Also this Conference asks Council to review the current levels of subscriptions

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paid by higher-earning members of Equity and whether they should be increased further to reflect their current capacity to pay more towards the funding of the Union and its activities, and to report its conclusions at the ARC next year.” The motion was proposed by Bryn Evans and formally seconded by Ian Barritt. The amendment was proposed by James Ivens and formally seconded. The Council Spokesperson was Bryn Evans who spoke against the amendment. There were three speakers against the amendment and one for. There was one speaker against the motion unamended. The amendment was LOST. The motion, unamended, was CARRIED overwhelmingly. MOTION 9: South and South East London General Branch This Annual Representative Conference calls upon the Equity Council to introduce for a trial period (to be determined by Council) a reduced minimum subscription rate of 50 per cent of the lowest rate for new full members of Equity for their first three years of membership to actively encourage membership take-up and retention. Once the three years had finished, this concession would cease. This concession would also lapse if the member’s earnings rose over the minimum qualifying earnings threshold. This concession would not apply to members who were rejoining after a break in membership. The motion was proposed by James Ivens and seconded by Tigger Blaize. The Council Spokesperson was Bryn Evans who spoke against the motion. There were five speakers for the motion and three against. The motion was DEFEATED overwhelmingly. MOTION 10: London Area Annual General Meeting The Equity Council’s Organising for Success strategy and new structural changes emphasise members’ own organising, campaigning and industrial activity and strength. In harmony with this, this Annual Representative Conference urges the Equity Council and organisers to extend Equity’s representative structure by: 1. Promoting the establishment of sufficient branches to adequately represent the whole membership nationwide, 2. Making sure that branch members’ wishes and decisions are truly and democratically represented at the Annual Representative Conference. The current system of representation of members by their representatives, in Rule 37, rejects full democratic accountability and undermines the new democracy that is now possible within the Union. Conference therefore instructs the Council to put to a referendum of the members a replacement of Rule 37.2.20 as follows: “Representatives may (but not must) be mandated by their Committee or Branch or Annual General Meeting. Any representative so mandated shall only be free to vote against these decisions if the actual circumstances giving rise to them alter before Conference. They shall have a single vote each.” FIRST AMENDMENT: Theatre Designers’ Committee In line 6, after: “nationwide” insert: “including non-geographical specialist branches such as Designers or Directors where there is demonstrable support for them from relevant specialist members” SECOND AMENDMENT: North West of England General Branch After numbered paragraph 2, insert: “3 reintroducing English Area Committees in the English Areas that request the need for an Area Committee be reintroduced.” THIRD AMENDMENT: North and East London General Branch Delete the final paragraph and insert: “Representatives shall be mandated by their Committee or Branch on how to vote on motions and amendments. Any representative so mandated shall be free to vote against the decisions taken by their Committee or Branch only if the actual circumstances giving rise to those decisions alter before or during Conference. They shall have a single vote each.” The motion was proposed by Shenagh Goven who had not accepted any of the amendments. The motion was seconded by Hywel Morgan. The first amendment was proposed by Ian Teague and seconded by David Cockayne. The second amendment was proposed by Jamie Byron and seconded by Barry Evans. The third amendment was proposed by Billy McColl and seconded by Lisa Klevemark. There were two speakers for the motion and three against. There was one speaker for the first amendment and two against. There were three speakers against the second amendment. There were two speakers for the third amendment. The Council spokesperson was Jean Rogers who spoke against the motion. All three amendments were LOST and the motion unamended was LOST.

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MOTION 11: Theatre Directors’ Committee This Annual Representative Conference expresses its concern at Equity’s perceived lack of relevancy to young people coming into our profession. Significant changes to the work environment since Equity’s inception (such as the increase in self-employed practitioners and the prevalence of low pay/no pay) demand that Equity reconsiders its current definition of professional work for the purposes of eligibility for membership. In order to foster a better working environment for all those contributing to the performing arts industry, Conference asks Council to create a new category of membership (distinct from Student membership) for unpaid and/or apprentice professionals to reflect the diverse ways in which individuals are now entering our profession. AMENDMENT: The Council In lines 7 and 8, delete: “create a new category of membership (distinct from Student membership) for unpaid and/or apprentice professionals to”, and insert: “investigate the way in which the union can”. The amendment had been accepted and therefore the Council was now supporting the motion as amended. The motion was proposed by Vanessa Pope and seconded by Di Christian. There were six speakers in favour of the motion. The motion was CARRIED overwhelmingly. MOTION 12: Welsh National Committee This Annual Representative Conference asks the Equity Council to look into the feasibility of assisting some members with travel expenses when attending their respective regional or national Annual General Meeting. With many nations and regions covering huge geographical areas this financial assistance will increase the union’s engagement with members in locations that are often not served by local branch meetings. Moderate assistance with travel expenses might therefore encourage a more representative cross-section of members from across the region or nation to be present and, as a consequence, increase the members’ participation in other union activities and events. AMENDMENT: Walk-On and Supporting Artists’ Committee In line 2, after: “some members”, insert “ and those who are required to attend,” The motion was proposed by Terry Victor and seconded by Doc O’Brien The amendment from the Walk-On Committee FELL due to the absence of their speaker. The Council Spokesperson was Bryn Evans who spoke against the motion. There was one speaker against the motion. The motion was CARRIED by a simple majority with 68 for and 60 against. MOTION 13: Bristol and West General Branch This Annual Representative Conference recognises situations where the actions and conduct of a member lead to a financial and/or performance loss for other members and proposes the insertion of an additional sub-clause in Rule 28.3 and a consequential amendment to Rule 28.2.1 to reflect that change. Conference believes this rule change will clarify and strengthen the union’s stance on unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour. Insert new Rule as follows: “28.3.5 Acted in a manner that has adversely affected another member or officer of the union, to the detriment of financial or performance opportunity.” In line five of Rule 28.2.1, delete: “Rules 28.3 to 28.3.4” and insert: “Rules 28.3 to 28.3.5”. AMENDMENT: West End Deputies’ Committee In line 7, after: “Acted”, insert: “intentionally” Xander Black said that the Bristol & West Branch had agreed to remit this motion to Council due to the legal wording – he urged the union to seek legal advice to avoid such a situation occurring once again. The motion was therefore REMITTED. RECORDED MEDIA MOTION 14: East Midlands Variety Branch This Annual Representative Conference agrees that Equity should seek to insert into the ITV, BBC and PACT television agreements cancellation clauses. The motion was proposed by Peter Tomlyn and seconded by Bernie Kayla. The Council Spokesperson was David Cockayne who requested that the motion be remitted to Council and should otherwise be opposed. There were two other speakers in favour of remitting the motion. Peter Tomlyn agreed to remit this motion and this was AGREED by Conference. The motion was therefore REMITTED.

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MOTION 15: Northern Ireland Committee The Campaign for Broadcasting in the Nations has highlighted the need for the BBC to produce and commission more outside of London particularly in the other nations. However, despite the lobbying and the support of politicians, Northern Ireland continues to see very little of network production that is not only filmed in Northern Ireland but also uses the talent that lives there. The practice of the BBC “badging” productions as being made by one of the National areas but produced elsewhere must stop along with the practice of importing an entire cast and crew as a form of window dressing to give the appearance that productions are going outside London. This Annual Representative Conference calls on the Equity Council through the Performers’ Alliance Parliamentary Group to seek to change the culture within the board of both the BBC and the regulatory body, Ofcom, to set a new definition of drama production outside of London that ensures that there is equal investment on a pro rata basis in all the nations of the UK that not only sees more investment locally but also ensures that local talent is nurtured through work opportunities in much the same way that technical crew is enshrined in the Ofcom definition of drama production outside of London. AMENDMENT: The Council In line 11, delete: “equal investment on a pro rata basis”, and insert: “appropriate investment” The amendment from The Council was accepted. The motion, as amended, was proposed by Al Logan and seconded by Christina Nelson. There was one speaker for the amended motion. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 16: Midlands Area Annual General Meeting This Annual Representative Conference calls on the Equity Council to continue to lobby for a fair share of BBC licence revenue to be spent in the nations and English regions. The current Charter commitment to move production outside the M25 has resulted in an unfair distortion of regional resources, impoverishing East and West Midlands and Eastern England. This BBC geographical region generates 25 per cent of the licence fee but spends 2 per cent of its budget in that region. Government and the BBC will conduct talks on the next Charter shortly and Equity should highlight this distortion to ensure that a more equitable distribution of resources is dispersed from London to the nations and regions including the Midlands. The motion was proposed by Sharon Canning and seconded by Sally Treble. The motion was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 17: Birmingham Variety Branch This Annual Representative Conference asks the Council to discuss with ITV, BBC and PACT the introduction of “Standard Salary Vouchers” for walk-on and supporting artists. The motion was proposed by Sally Treble and formally seconded. The motion was CARRIED. COMMUNICATIONSAND MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT MOTION 18: Welsh Annual General Meeting This Annual Representative Conference questions the usefulness of the Equity diary when so many members are organising their lives on tablets and smart-phones and asks the Equity Council to investigate: 1 how many members actually use the diary, 2 whether an Equity ‘app’ would be more useful. The motion was proposed by Terry Victor and seconded by Gerri Smith. There were three speakers for the motion and one against. The motion was CARRIED by a two-thirds majority. MOTION 19: Brighton and Sussex General Branch This Annual Representative Conference wishes to identify and clarify what happens to a motion passed by a two thirds majority at the ARC which is binding on the Council and therefore should be implemented. Conference would like reports to be made to all branches and committees of actions taken on such motions within three months. The motion was proposed by Mjka-Anne Scott and formally seconded. Martin Brown gave professional advice. The motion was CARRIED overwhelmingly. MOTION 20: Liverpool and District General Branch This Annual Representative Conference is grateful to theatres like The Dukes, Lancaster and others for offering

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Equity members reduced ticket prices on the presentation of their membership card and asks that Equity enters into discussions with the Theatrical Management Association about extending discounts for Equity members throughout their whole membership. AMENDMENT: North West London General Branch At the end of the motion insert: “Theatres should offer a stand-by discount for Equity members.” The motion was proposed by Catherine Rice, who had accepted the amendment, and formally seconded. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED overwhelmingly. STRUCTURE MOTION 21: Walk-on and Supporting Artists’ Committee In line with Rule 43 this Annual Representative Conference agrees to the dissolution of the union. The motion was proposed by Maggi Hevicon-Thompson and seconded by Linda Hardy. The Council Spokesperson was Bryn Evans who spoke against the motion. There was one speaker for the motion and two against and one speaker urged abstention. The motion was overwhelmingly DEFEATED. [This motion was followed by the awards of Honorary Life Membership]. MOTION 22: Manchester and District Variety Branch This Annual Representative Conference asks the Equity Council to investigate the issues, under the law and Equity rules, of the process of disincorporation of the Variety Artistes’ Federation from Equity, an action which may prove to be in the long-term best interests of all Equity members. AMENDMENT: Variety Advisory Committee Add at the end of the motion: “especially given the proposed demise of the Variety Advisory Committee”. The motion was proposed by Yvonne Joseph, who had accepted the amendment, and seconded by Geremy Phillips. The Council Spokesperson was Adam Burns who spoke against the motion. There were six speakers against the motion and two in favour. The motion, as amended, was DEFEATED overwhelmingly. MOTIONS 23 AND 24 WERE DEBATED TOGETHER BUT VOTED ON SEPARATELY MOTION 23: Variety Advisory Committee With reference to Motion 25 at last year’s Annual Representative Conference, which was passed by 70 votes in favour, 50 votes against, this Annual Representative Conference urges the Equity Council to reconsider its decision and leave the Variety Advisory Committee in its pre-January 2013 form in order to sustain and protect the variety profession. The motion was proposed by Geremy Phillips and seconded by Mandalea. MOTION 24: North and West Yorkshire Variety Branch This Annual Representative Conference feels that only one Variety Branch Secretary meeting a year is of no benefit to our variety members, who have such a diverse set of problems within the entertainment industry. At the moment all problems are dealt with quickly and efficiently by the Variety Branch Secretaries and we are fully aware that if only one meeting a year is implemented for the Variety Branch Secretaries problems will take much longer to resolve if at all. Therefore this Conference urges the Equity Council to determine that the four Variety Branch Secretary meetings a year remain as the status quo. The motion was proposed by Valerie Jean Mann and formally seconded. The Council Spokesperson on Motion 23 was Rhubarb the Clown who spoke against the motion. The Council Spokesperson on Motion 24 was John Webb who spoke against the motion. There was one speaker for Motion 23 and one for Motion 24 and one speaker against both motions. Motion 23 was overwhelmingly DEFEATED. Motion 24 was DEFEATED on a count with 43 for, 69 against and 4 abstentions. MOTION 25: Thames Variety Branch As a result of the upcoming changes in Equity, which involves the Variety Advisory Committee becoming the Variety Circus and Entertainers Industrial Committee, this Annual Representative Conference asks the Equity Council to consider changing the requirement for members of the Industrial Committees having to demonstrate that they have worked in the relevant part of the industry in the past three years. Instead, an appropriate and long lasting connection with the field of work should be acceptable. While it is important to have people on the Industrial Committees who are currently working, Equity does benefit from being able to call on the experience of longer standing members who have been involved in the area of work. The motion was proposed by Deborah Charnley and formally seconded. The Council Spokesperson was Michael Branwell who spoke against the motion.

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There were six speakers against the motion. The motion was DEFEATED. MOTION 26: West of England Variety Branch and South West Area Annual General Meeting This Annual Representative Conference is concerned that the recent referendum involving the entire membership only saw a 6 per cent vote returned, which actually works out at 2,207 members deciding the fate of 36,785. Major changes to our structure and governing body are in the process of being implemented and this figure cannot be seen to reflect the overall view in a representative way. This Annual Representative Conference urges the Equity Council to examine this issue and put to referendum a Rule change determining a minimum percentage of members voting, or a quorum, required for all future referenda to be valid, in the same way that branch meetings have to be quorate in order to put a motion to the Council, Annual Representative Conference, or any of the new industrial committees. This will ensure much more consistency within the entire process, and should encourage greater participation. AMENDMENT: West of England Variety Branch Delete the second paragraph and insert: “This Annual Representative Conference urges the Equity Council to examine this issue and ask why branch meetings have to be quorate but referendums do not.” The motion was proposed by Clifford Lee Evans who had accepted the amendment. The motion was seconded by David Richey. There were four speakers against the motion. The motion was DEFEATED. MOTION 27: East of Scotland General Branch This Annual Representative Conference urges the Equity Council to bring forward changes that ensure that all industrial and non-geographically specific committees meet outside of London at least once within the term of any Committee. This would facilitate such meetings having present, as observers, a wider representation of local members, student members or members who may have personal difficulty getting to meetings outside their own locale but who wish to attend. This, in turn would help a wider membership to have access to an increased understanding of how to participate in the Union’s democratic structures and would particularly help bring on new members who may be unsure of how these structures work and how they might participate and influence. It would also present opportunities to meet officers and more experienced activists. We believe this would be in line with recent structural changes which we understand were aimed at creating a more reflective, democratic and user-friendly organisation for the 21st Century. It would help emphasise that we are indeed a UK-wide union, and would therefore encourage more active participation from a wider membership as well as underlining Equity’s commitment to Equality by being more equally inclusive and available. The motion was proposed by Mona Burden and seconded by David Richey. There were two speakers against the motion. The motion was CARRIED by a two-thirds majority. [Council then broke for lunch and postponed consideration of the remaining Structure motions until after Policy motions had been considered]. MOTION 28: Yorkshire Ridings General Branch This Annual Representative Conference is concerned that the new structure of the union, with the elimination of the English area committees and specialist committees, including Walk-ons, disadvantages the many members who relied on these committees to represent their specialist area of work. This Annual Representative Conference calls upon the Equity Council to ensure that these members are not denied a voice in the union in this way and urges Council to put structures in place to monitor the representation of these groups. AMENDMENT: Kent General Branch In line 2, delete: “including walk-ons” In line 4, after: “specialist area of work”, insert: “In particular, the abolition of the Walk-on Councillors means that background artists are no longer adequately represented at the very time when their working conditions are under unprecedented attack by television production companies.” The motion was proposed by Peter Keal, who had accepted the amendment, and did not wish to remit the motion. The motion was seconded by Audrey Roselyn Pointer. The Council spokesperson was Ian Barritt who spoke against the motion. Although the amendment had been accepted, Marie Kelly explained the thinking behind it to Council. There were two speakers against the motion. The motion was DEFEATED.

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MOTION 29: Devon and Cornwall General Branch This Annual Representative Conference calls on the Equity Council to ensure that the regional branches are given the opportunity to have a say over the structure of the proposed Area Networks. The Branches need to be consulted and heard. Their views are all important and some members feel that, so far, those views have not been taken into consideration. AMENDMENT: The Council In line 2, delete: “structure of the proposed”, and insert “operation of the”. The motion was proposed by David Ritchie who did not accept the amendment. The motion was formally seconded. The Council Spokesperson was Nicky Diprose who spoke for the amendment. There was one speaker for the motion. The amendment was CARRIED. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 30: Audio Committee This Annual Representative Conference is worried that the extensive and ever-expanding fields of work looked after by the committee will no longer be able to be covered either by staff time or by their own representation on Council or the committees available to them. In the hope of solving some of these difficulties, this Conference requires the Equity Council to set aside time on the agenda of their June meeting to debate the situation with a delegation from the Audio Committee. AMENDMENT: Audio Committee In line 5, after: “agenda of their June”, insert: “2014” In line 5, after: “Audio”, insert: “Sub-” Add at the end of the motion: “June 2014 is 11 months into the 12 month review of the restructuring of committees which has been promised.” The motion was proposed by Sheila Mitchell, who had accepted the amendment, and seconded by Dave Thorpe. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED overwhelmingly. POLICY MOTION 31: Northern Area Annual General Meeting This Annual Representative Conference urges the Equity Council to take any action necessary to persuade the Government and local Councils to commit to any options available to restore funding of the arts. We further request that the Council encourages development of a campaign template to target local government in fundingdeprived or subsidy-cut areas so that branches can individually or en masse target their town halls and make them accountable to the live arts. The motion was proposed by Ann Loraine and seconded by Dolores Poretta-Brown. The motion was CARRIED unanimously. MOTIONS 32 AND 33 AND ASSOCIATED AMENDMENTS WERE DEBATED TO GETHER BUT VOTED ON SEPARATELY MOTION 32: South East Area Annual General Meeting This Annual Representative Conference calls on the Equity Council to prioritise the Low Pay/No Pay Campaign. While recognising that Equity has achieved some advances with this campaign, a high percentage of Equity’s membership cannot earn a living wage from the business. Many members are understandably worried at the thought of being regarded as troublemakers and being refused future work if they complain about levels of pay. Conference suggests that Equity should support these members and campaign for a change of the Government’s rule that Tribunals may only hear cases from named performers. This actively discourages rank and file performers from complaining even with the support of their union. Conference asks the Council to re-launch the campaign for recognition that performers are professional workers, with a right to be paid a proper rate for the job of work they are doing. The campaign should emphasise to employers that the work of all performers, including those taking small parts and walk-on work for films and TV, deserves professional payment, as does the work currently done for little or no remuneration for film schools and other arts organisations. FIRST AMENDMENT: Women’s Committee In line 3, after: “business”, insert: “and under the Universal Credit system many Equity members will be assumed to earn approximately £11,000.” SECOND AMENDMENT: Stage Management Committee In line 7 delete: “performers”, and insert: “individuals” In lines 8, 9 and 11 delete: “performers”, and insert: “members” THIRD AMENDMENT: Thames Variety Branch

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In lines 9 and 11, delete: “performers”, and insert: “members” The motion was proposed by Henrietta Branwell who had accepted the first two amendments. The third amendment had been withdrawn. The motion was formally seconded by Michael Branwell. MOTION 33: Northern Ireland Annual General Meeting Many theatre and arts organisations have charitable status and for some it is a necessary part of staying financially viable. However having such status also allows some organisations to circumvent certain legislation including the National Minimum Wage. The practice of advertising for interns and work placements as a means of gaining work experience is a case in example. Often the people on such internships are highly qualified and have previous experience. This then allows the organisation to engage people often on commercial or public subsidised productions for no wages and sometimes without any expenses. It is in many cases a vehicle for exploitation. This Annual Representative Conference believes that, as a trade union, we should be against such exploitation and should campaign for a change in the law as it currently stands. Conference also believes that the union should also engage with the relevant funding bodies in all the nations to highlight this practice and argue that at least the minimum wage should be paid by companies who are given public funding. The motion was proposed by Louis Rolston and seconded by Tara O’Neill. Motion 32, as amended, was CARRIED by a two-thirds majority. Motion 33 was CARRIED by a two-thirds majority. MOTION 34: Women’s Committee This Annual Representative Conference notes a growing trend whereby young members, and in particular young women members, have acting opportunities denied to them unless they agree to appear nude. Equity’s young members are seeing a proliferation in the numbers of castings where nudity is required and many young members feel uncomfortable and pressurised. We owe a duty of care to our young members in an industry which can so easily exploit them. Conference calls on the Equity Council to establish a working party composed of members of the Women’s Committee, Young Members’ Committee and the Models’ Committee to investigate this worrying development and to formulate a union response to safeguard members from this exploitation. FIRST AMENDMENT: Young Members’ Committee In line 3, after: “agree to appear nude”, insert: “during the casting process”. In line 4, after: “castings where nudity”, insert: “or simulated sexual activity”. In lines 7 and 8, delete: “a working party composed of members of the Women’s Committee. In lines 7 and 8, delete: “a working party composed of members of the Women’s Committee, Young Members’ Committee and the Models’ Committee” and insert “an age and gender balanced working party composed of members with experience of this issue”. SECOND AMENDMENT: The Council In line 1, after: “Conference notes”, insert: “reports of” In lines 7 to 10, delete everything in the third paragraph and insert: “Conference calls on the Screen, Stage and Variety, Circus and Entertainers Industrial Committees to consider this matter in the light of existing provisions in the recorded media and live performance collective agreements after a survey of members to gauge concern.” THIRD AMENDMENT: Brighton and Sussex Branch In lines 1 and 2, delete: “and in particular young women members”, and insert: “both men and women” In line 4, delete: “young” In line 6, delete: “our young”, and insert: “all” The motion was proposed by Karina Cornell who had accepted the second amendment as a result of which the first amendment FELL. The motion was seconded by Eleanor Dearle. Mal Kutub spoke on the first amendment although this had fallen due to the acceptance of the second amendment. The third amendment was proposed by Mjka-Anne Scott and formally seconded. There were two speakers in favour of the motion. There was one speaker against the motion. The third amendment was CARRIED. The motion, as amended by the second and third amendments, was CARRIED overwhelmingly. MOTION 35: Scottish Annual General Meeting This Annual Representative Conference seeks endorsement for the continuing cooperation between Equity and other organisations including the Scottish Federation of Entertainment Unions in order to formulate a clear picture of what we all see as a fair and equable future within Scottish and UK-wide broadcasting for all of our respective

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workforces, within or without a devolved Scotland. This motion further calls on Equity to campaign to protect the BBC from political interference in order to secure its future. Successive Governments at Westminster have applied differing forms of pressure on the BBC to conform to their own agendas. In order to protect the BBC from such overt interference, the union should investigate and then advocate a model of governance which would make the BBC answerable to both Parliaments and both Assemblies. AMENDMENT: The Council Delete the third paragraph. The motion was proposed by Isabella Jarrett and seconded by Natasha Gerson. The Council Spokesperson was Frederick Pyne who spoke for the amendment. There were two speakers in favour of the motion. There was one speaker against the amendment. The Council amendment was CARRIED on a count with 63 for and 56 against. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED by a two-thirds majority. MOTION 36: Scottish National Committee Given the increasing importance of child protection policies in the work place, especially in the world of entertainment, this Annual Representative Conference calls on the union to pressure theatre, film and television employers to ensure that, when working with children, all employers supply to artists a copy of their Child Protection Policy at the same time as offering contracts and to make sure that all employers enforce their policies rigorously. The motion was proposed by Isabella Jarrett and seconded by Michael Branwell. The motion was CARRIED by a two-thirds majority. MOTION 37: Humberside Variety Branch This Annual Representative Conference recommends that the Equity Council endorses and supports the campaign of the Performing Arts Employers Associations League Europe (Pearle) for the abolition of article 17 in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention treaty to ensure that artists performing abroad in Europe are treated the same as other people in professions working abroad in Europe. AMENDMENT: South East Area Committee In line 4, after: “performing”, delete: “abroad” In lines 4 and 5 delete: “are treated the same as other people in professions”, and insert: “are employed and taxed on terms no less favourable than other professionals” In line 5, after: “working”, delete: “abroad” The motion was proposed by Christie Clifford, who had accepted the amendment, and seconded by Michael Branwell. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 38: North Lancashire and Cumbria General Branch This Annual Representative Conference calls upon the Equity Council to work with branches in running a campaign to raise the profile of members’ contractual right when conducting their business as freelancers, with particular reference to late or non-payment of invoices and short notice cancellations. This could include the production of an advice leaflet, talks by organisers at branch meetings and the formal authorisation for the use of the Equity logo and a strap line to be included on invoices submitted by the artiste, advocating the payment of all monies for freelance work within 28 days. The campaign should also draw attention to the support offered to Equity members when they face a contractual dispute with a booker or hirer. AMENDMENT: Theatre Directors’ Committee In line 4, delete: “leaflet, talks”, and insert: “leaflets and talks” In line 5: delete “and the formal authorisation for the use of the Equity logo and a strap line to be included on invoices submitted by the artiste” The motion was proposed by Peter Rylands and seconded by Barry Evans. John Carnegie spoke to the amendment and then advised that it was withdrawn. The Council Spokesperson was Jean Rogers, who said that following withdrawal of the amendment, the Council would support the motion. The motion, unamended, was CARRIED unanimously. MOTIONS 39 AND 40 AND ASSOCIATED AMENDMENTS WERE DEBATED TOGETHER BUT VOTED ON SEPARATELY MOTION 39: North West of England General Branch Since the Government’s increase on VAT to 20 per cent, most members with agency representation — actors,

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variety, walk-on/supporting artists — have been hit extremely hard financially due to the fact that many agents, personal/boutique managements and casting agencies maintain commission levels of up to and sometimes exceeding 20 per cent. This Annual Representative Conference calls on the Equity Council to seek opportunities to lobby the Government to reduce the rate of VAT that agents and other representation are forced to charge on top of their commission. AMENDMENT: The Council In line 5, after; “to seek”, insert: “the support of agents’ associations for exploring”. The motion was proposed by Barry Evans, who had accepted the amendment, and who had agreed to remit the motion back to Council. As the motion had not yet been proposed and seconded, no vote was required on this. The motion was REMITTED. MOTION 40: Central England General Branch This Annual Representative Conference calls on the Equity Council to ensure as far as possible that the consultation on reforming the regulatory framework for employment agencies and employment businesses strengthens the safeguards for actors and variety members. If the result of the consultation is a proposed dilution of the protection currently provided, Conference calls on the Council to ensure that all measures available by way of lobbying and public protest are used to favourably influence any government legislation that flows from this consultation. AMENDMENT: Scottish National Committee Add at the end of the motion: “In particular, Conference calls upon the Council to investigate the increasing number of employment services offered to members where job seekers in the entertainment industries are charged money for basic information about up-coming jobs. Conference urges Council to consider lobbying to amend the law to differentiate between bonafide theatrical agencies and these other employment services to ensure that the financial burden does not always fall on the Equity members. The motion was proposed by Kelly Costigan and formally seconded by Claire Owen. The amendment was accepted but Michael Mackenzie spoke to Conference in any event to explain the amendment. The motion, as amended, was CARRIED unanimously. MOTION 41: West and South West London General Branch This Annual Representative Conference requires the Equity Council to instruct negotiators of theatre and TV agreements in receipt of public funding, to include discussions about openness in their engagement procedures. Initial approaches should be made to the National Theatre, the BBC and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Further, that Council should share findings with the branches so that members can monitor the situation on an on-going basis and feed their observations back to Council. The motion was proposed by Andrew MacBean and seconded by Daniel Page. Andrew MacBean did not accept the motion being remitted. The Council spokesperson was Ian Barritt who asked that the motion be remitted to Council and otherwise be opposed. There were four speakers for the motion. There were two speakers in favour of remitting the motion. On a vote, the motion was CARRIED with 65 for, 39 against and 6 abstentions which was a simple majority. [Conference then returned to Motions 28-30 under Structure, as above].

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APPENDIX 2:

COMMITTEE ELECTIONS Committee elections 2013 — results

Total members entitled to vote: 36,841 Spoilt ballot papers: 22 Total voted by post: 2,588 Total voted on web: 327 Total ballot returns:

2,937 8%

SCREEN COMMITTEE ACTORS 10 to elect votes STEPHEN AINTREE 582 PETER BARNES 1,040 GIOVANNI BIENNE 536 LAURENCE BOUVARD 979 ALEXA BROWN 1,030 JO CAMERON BROWN 1,392 KARINA CORNELL 873 JIM DOWDALL 857 SIMON FISHER-BECKER 601 TONY GARDNER 917 RORY GIRVAN 635 STEPHEN HOGAN 1,068 SIMON LUDDERS 616 STUART ST PAUL 130 JAY TAYLOR 814 ALAN THOMPSON 924 Total members voting 2,144

Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected

Elected Elected

SCREEN COMMITTEE CHOREOGRAPHERS 1 to elect ADRIAN GAS Elected unopposed SCREEN COMMITTEE DANCERS 1 to elect TALI Elected unopposed SCREEN COMMITTEE WALK-ONS 3 to elect votes HENRIETTA BRANWELL 799 Elected CHRISTINE BUCCI 521 Elected PEGGY-ANN FRASER 519 Elected MAGGI HEVICON-THOMPSON 377 ANN LORAINE 413 ROGER MORGAN 458 Total members voting 1,313

STAGE COMMITTEE ACTORS 10 to elect votes IAN BARRITT 1,015 Elected RAFE BECKLEY 430 GEOFF BRETON 669 BERTIE CARVEL 994 Elected JACKIE CLUNE 803 Elected NADINE COX 525 MARILYN CUTTS 809 Elected CHRIS DICKINS 582 NICKY DIPROSE 314 ESTHER RUTH ELLIOTT 784 Elected PETER FORBES 673 Elected ROBERT HARPER 287 TOM HODGKINS 336 DAVID HOROVITCH 1,271 Elected DEREK LAWSON 237 REBECCA LOUIS 578 JOE McGANN 526 MICHAEL MACKENZIE 656 HYWEL MORGAN 740 Elected DANIEL PAGE 245 LEE RAVITZ 510 PETER RYLANDS 597 PETER SANDYS-CLARKE 485 JESSICA SHERMAN 952 Elected JACK TARLTON 356 TIM WALTON 745 Elected Total members voting 2,320 STAGE COMMITTEE DANCERS 1 to elect votes NATASHA GERSON 404 Elected NICHOLAS KEEGAN 323 Total members voting 727

VARIETY, CIRCUS AND ENTERTAINERS’ COMMITTEE 12 to elect votes CHRIS BARLTROP 414 Elected BEANO THE CLOWN 458 Elected NICHOLAS K BRAND 356 Elected JOHN BRENNAN 343 Elected LORRAINE BROOKER-MAYS 381 Elected ROWAN CAMERON BROWN 279 CHRIS COTTON 352 Elected STEVE DAKING 277 TONY DENNES 449 Elected CLIFFORD LEE EVANS 215 LEEANN JAMES 324 YVONNE JOSEPH 486 Elected STEPHEN McGUIRE 290 VALERIE JEAN MANN 318 PEACHY MEAD 480 Elected GEREMY PHILLIPS 327 Elected ROGER THE ARTFUL 337 Elected THE PUPPET MAN 312 SALLY TREBLE 581 Elected Total members voting 1,027 AUDIO SUB-COMMITTEE 9 to elect POSY BREWER PATRICIA BRIAN DAVID CORDEN DAVID JOHN EDWARD KELSEY PATRICIA LEVENTON MICHAEL McCLAIN SHEILA MITCHELL CHARLES NOVE ANNETTE RIZZO LIZA ROSS DAVID THORPE Total members voting

votes 648 424 643 566 623 718 523 729 435 512 635 641 1,319

Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected

Elected Elected

CREATIVE TEAM SUB-COMMITTEE The two candidates with the most votes in the Theatre Designers and Theatre directors sections and the one candidate with the most votes in the Theatre Fight Directors section have been elected to the Sub-Committee. The remaining candidates were put into a pool and the two with the most votes were elected to the Sub-Committee regardless of which section they were standing in. There were no candidates standing as Choreographers. 9 to elect votes RODNEY FORD (theatre designers) 126 FOXTON (theatre designers) 83 RICHARD LAMBERT (theatre designers) 127 Elected EDMUND SUTTON (theatre designers) 144 Elected KATE McCALL (theatre directors) 259 Elected HELEN OAKLEIGH (theatre directors) 195 VANESSA POPE (theatre directors) 220 Elected FRANCES RIFKIN (theatre directors) 270 Elected DAVID WARWICK (theatre directors) 208 FAYNIA WILLIAMS (theatre directors) 227 Elected RENNY KRUPINSKI (theatre fight directors) 159 Elected PHIL STAFFORD (theatre fight directors) 95 Total members voting 742 SINGERS’ SUB-COMMITTEE 9 to elect ZOë BONNER Elected unopposed VIVA CASSIDY Elected unopposed BRYN EVANS Elected unopposed ANNE SKATES Elected unopposed ROSALIND WATERS Elected unopposed TOM EMLYN WILLIAMS Elected unopposed STAGE MANAGEMENT SUB-COMMITTEE 9 to elect votes JAMIE BYRON 328 Elected SARAH COWAN 321 Elected ELIZABETH FIELDING 259 Elected PRUDENCE HAYNES 239 NADIA JAVED 247 Elected PETER KOSTA 328 Elected CARON JANE LYON 238 FIONA H MOTT 321 Elected BRIAN PERKINS 251 Elected GRAEME REID 326 Elected KATE RIEDLER 302 Elected Total members voting 604

STUNT COMMITTEE 3 to elect from each section votes Full members JIM DOWDALL 15 Elected SARAH FRANZL 13 Elected GREG POWELL 15 Elected SEON ROGERS 8 Intermediate members TONY CHRISTIAN Elected unopposed JUSTIN PEARSON Elected unopposed JONATHAN PAUL COHEN Elected unopposed Probationary members PETE FORD Elected unopposed Spoilt ballot papers 0 Total members voting 19 6% Total members entitled to vote 295 NORTHERN IRELAND NATIONAL COMMITTEE 9 to elect STEPHEN BEGGS Elected unopposed AL LOGAN Elected unopposed FRANKIE McCAFFERTY Elected unopposed ALAN McKEE Elected unopposed CHRISTINA NELSON Elected unopposed TARA O’NEILL Elected unopposed SCOTTISH NATIONAL COMMITTEE 12 to elect votes ANDREW BRODIE-FREW 65 MORNA BURDON 51 JOHN CARNEGIE 53 ALICIA DEVINE 35 GEORGE DRENNAN 49 TOM FREEMAN 64 NATASHA GERSON 72 KATE McCALL 73 CLUNIE MacKENZIE 82 KIRSTIN McLEAN 65 SHEENA PENSON 61 IAN PETRIE 57 WILLIAM RIDDOCH 79 PAB ROBERTS 66 JOHN A SAMPSON 73 Spoilt ballot papers 1 Total members voting 138 Total members entitled to vote 1,753

Elected Elected

Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected Elected 8%

WELSH NATIONAL COMMITTEE 12 to elect votes CHRIS BATTEN 33 Elected 52 Elected MEGAN BROOKS PHIL EVANS 46 Elected GOLDINI 45 Elected JOANNE GRABHAM 47 Elected ABBIE HIRST 53 Elected BEV LENNON 56 Elected ROGER NOTT 27 DOC O’BRIEN 53 Elected BEN OWEN-JONES 30 Elected CEI PHILLIPS 35 Elected GERRI SMITH 47 Elected TERRY VICTOR 46 Elected Spoilt ballot papers 1 Total ballot papers received 95 7% Total members entitled to vote 1,392

MEMBERS WITH DISABILITIES’ COMMITTEE 9 to elect votes NATALIE AMBER 211 Elected SIMON BALCON 155 Elected DI CHRISTIAN 207 Elected DAVID COCKAYNE 186 Elected DAN EDGE 141 PAUL HENSHALL 182 Elected PHOEBE KEMP 170 Elected ANN LORAINE 184 Elected MIK SCARLET 164 Elected FREDDIE STABB 177 Elected Total members voting 369 LESBIAN, GAY, BI-SEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMITTEE WOMEN’S SECTION 4 to elect JO FREYA Elected unopposed LESBIAN, GAY, BI-SEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMITTEE MEN’S SECTION 4 to elect votes GIOVANNI BIENNE 208 Elected NICHOLAS K BRAND 91 JAMES HAMILTON WELSH 152 Elected PETER KOSTA 150 Elected DANIEL PAGE 131 JULIAN SIMS 198 Elected Total members voting 706 MINORITY ETHNIC MEMBERS’ COMMITTEE 9 to elect LACHELE CARL Elected unopposed HELEN CREVEL Elected unopposed MAI CUNNINGHAM Elected unopposed NICHOLAS GOH Elected unopposed PAUL COURTENAY HYU Elected unopposed MO Elected unopposed IRENE NG Elected unopposed DANIEL YORK Elected unopposed WOMENS’ COMMITTEE 9 to elect KELLY BURKE KARINA CORNELL NORMA DIXIT RACHAEL FAGAN SUSAN McGOUN LYNDA ROOKE FLIP WEBSTER

Elected unopposed Elected unopposed Elected unopposed Elected unopposed Elected unopposed Elected unopposed Elected unopposed

YOUNG MEMBERS’ COMMITTEE 9 to elect KEZIA DAVIS Elected unopposed NICOLA HAWKINS Elected unopposed MATT JESSUP Elected unopposed NICHOLAS KEEGAN Elected unopposed NICO LENNON Elected unopposed BONNIE PARSONS Elected unopposed ADAM PETTIGREW Elected unopposed REBECCA ROSIE Elected unopposed

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ANNUAL REPORT 2013

APPENDIX 3:

VARIETY BRANCH OFFICIALS Birmingham Chairman Conk the Clown Secretary: 193 Shard End Crescent Shard End Birmingham B34 7RE Blackpool Chairman: Nikki Leonard Secretary: 2 Wesham Hall Road Wesham, Kirkham Lancs PR4 3BW

Jim Townsend 45 Eachway, Rubery Birmingham West Midlands B45 9DG Tel: 0121 453 6952 Chris Cotton 7 Woodlands Drive Warton , Preston PR4 1UQ Tel: 07941 550315

Coventry & Leicester Chairman: Trevor Gay Secretary: Annie Gay 11 Warwick Row 11 Warwick Row Coventry Coventry CV1 1EX CV1 1EX Tel: 02476 221719 East Anglia Chairman: Tony Dennes Secretary: Peachy Mead 126 Bull Close Road “Cavendish House” Norwich 10B Mill Hill Road Norfolk Norwich NR18 0SP Norfolk NR2 3DP Tel: 01603 624981 East Midlands Chairman: Bernie Kayla Secretary: 4 Shaw Lane Markfield Leics LE67 9PU

Chris Shaw 28 North Road West Bridgford Nottingham NG2 7NH Tel: 0115 974 5512

Humberside Chairman: Brian Blakey Secretary: 29 Beaufort Crescent Cleethorpes North East Lincs DN35 0RR

Christie Clifford Lyndale Lodge Queens Way Cottingham HU16 4EP Tel: 01482 848031

Manchester & District Chairman: Geremy Phillips Secretary: 10 Bradshaw Street Higher Broughton Salford

Yvonne Joseph 10 Bradshaw Street Higher Broughton Salford

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

135

Greater Manchester M7 4UB

Great Manchester M7 4UB Tel: 0161 792 2035

Merseyside Chairman: Norah Button Secretary: 146 North Sudley Road Liverpool L17 6BT

Les O’Neill 20 Greenfield Drive Huyton With Roby Liverpool L36 0SZ Tel: 0151 480 8056

North East Chairman: Steve McGuire Secretary: 12 Pennine Court Annfield Plain Stanley DH9 8TZ

Brenda Marsh 5 North Dene Birtley Co Durham DH3 1PZ Tel: 0191 410 2660

North & West Yorkshire Chairman: Kim Le Mar Secretary: Shire Cruisers The Wharf Sowerby Bridge HX6 2AG

Valerie Jean Mann Snow White Cottage 16 Birkhill Crescent Birkenshaw West Yorkshire BD11 2LJ Tel: 01132 853 848

Northern Ireland Chairman: B.B. Tohill Secretary: Fairhaven, 24 The Cutts Dunmarry, Belfast Northern Ireland BT17 9HN

Roxanne James 19 Stewartstown Park Belfast Northern Ireland BT11 9GH Tel: 02890 623274

Scotland Chairman:

Linda Rifkind Tawny Woods Sandringham Avenue Newton Mearns Glasgow G77 5DU Tel: 0141 639 6969

Eva Lorraine Secretary: Flat 3/2 33 Albert Avenue Queens Park Glasgow G42 8RB

South Wales Chairman: Vacant Secretary:

Shelli Dawn 3 Cefndon Terrace Hirwaun Nr Aberdare CF44 9TE Tel: 01685 812779

136 South Yorkshire Chairman: Anthony Blakesley Secretary: 15 Common Lane Aukley Nr Doncaster South Yorkshire DN9 3HU Thames Chairman: Rhubarb the Clown Secretary: 72 Hillside Road London N15 6NB

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

APPENDIX 4: Joy Palmer 13 Harborough Drive Manor Park Estate Sheffield S2 1RJ Tel: 0114 264 4833

Deborah Charnley 13 Stockfield Road London SW16 2LU Tel: 07760 105831

Wessex Chairman: Vacant Secretary: Vacant West of England Chairman: Vacant Secretary:

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

VARIETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Elected Members until June 2013 Chris Barltrop (Vice Chair) Beano the Clown Anthony Blakesley Nicholas Brand Michael Branwell John Brennan Tony Dennes Eva Lorraine Mandelea Sally Novello Geremy Phillips (Vice Chair) Sally Treble (Chair) Variety, Light Entertainment and Circus Councillors (to July 2012 - 2014)

Mary Lane 21 Darnley Avenue Bristol BS7 0BS 0117 373 0614

Annie Bright Dave Eager Mary Lane* Brenda Marsh* Tina May Rhubarb the Clown Variety Branch Secretaries Deborah Charnley Christie Clifford Chris Cotton Shelli Dawn Roxanne James Yvonne Joseph Mary Lane Brenda Marsh Valerie Jean Mann Peachy Mead Les Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill Joy Palmer Annie Gay Linda Rifkind Chris Shaw Jim Townsend Elected by the Executive Committee of the VAF Karin Karina (deceased March 2013) Tommy Wallis *

Also Variety Branch Secretary

137

138

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

APPENDIX 5:

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

139

RECORDED MEDIA DEPARTMENT

MEMBERS OF STAFF GENERAL SECRETARY’S DEPARTMENT General Secretary

Christine Payne

PA to General Secretary

Natalie Barker

Hod, Policy Development Officer & Assistant to General Secretary

Louise McMullan

Head of Finance

Duncan Smith

Finance Officer

Richard Mason

IT Manager

Matthew Foster

Reception & Administration Assistant

Sandy Nation Hay

Administration Assistant (Postroom)

Moreno Ferrari

Office Assistant, General Secretary’s Department

John Sailing

COMMUNICATION & MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT Assistant General Seceretary (Communications & Membership Support)

Martin Brown

Campaign, Publications & Press Officer

Phil Pemberton

Marketing, Events & Training for Members Officer

Louise Grainger

Tax & Welfare Benefits Officer/Equalities Officer

Max Beckmann

Tax & Welfare Rights Organiser/Minute Secretary’

Alan Lean

Legal Claims Referral Officer

Martin Kenny

Membership Relations & Head of Department

Matt Hood

Equalities and Recruitment & Retention Organiser

Kristin Hamada

Assistant Organiser, Membership Relations

Charlotte Bence

Job Information Officer

Tracey Stuart

Membership Records Officer

Linda Elves

Membership Records Officer

Pauline Yip

Membership Records Support

Cheryl Philbert

Membership Records Support

Glenda Burgess

Membership Records Support & Organising Assistant

Brenda Toussaint

ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY, INDUSTRIAL & ORGANISING

Stephen Spence

LIVE PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENT HoD

Hilary Hadley

PA to HoD

Beth Haines Doran

West End Organiser

Virginia Wilde

London Area & Commercial Tours Theatre Organiser

Paul Fleming

Variety Organiser

Michael Day

Recruitment Organiser - London based

Steve Rice

Organising Assistant - Live Theatre and Variety rates

Shannon Burns

Organising Assistant - Theatre and Variety rates

Kevin Livgren

South East Organiser

John Ainslie

HoD

John Barclay

BBC television agreement/TV WP/presenters/walk-on & supporting artists committee

Ian Bayes

ITV Organiser/TV WP/BBC Audio Agreement/BBC Singers/Audio Cmt/Audio books WP Cathy Sweet TV commercials Organiser

Tim Gale

Royalties & Residuals Manager

Nick Craske

Organising Assistant (BBC, PACT TV, ITV and Audio)

Alex Moreau

Films Organiser and Contract Enforcement Officer

Laura Messenger

Organising Assistant

Christine Blake

Recruitment & Retention Organiser

Steven Littlewood

CARDIFF OFFICE National & Regional Organiser - Wales & South West

Simon Curtis

Recruitment and Retention Organiser

Wayne Bebb

Organising Assistant

Mair James

GLASGOW OFFICE National Organiser - Scotland & Northern Ireland

Lorne Boswell

National Organiser - Scotland & Northern Ireland

Drew McFarlane

Organising Assistant

Marlene Curran

MANCHESTER OFFICE North West Regional Organiser

Jamie Briers

Recruitment Organiser

Andrew Whiteside

Organising Assistant

Mary Hooley

MIDLANDS OFFICE Midlands Organiser

Tim Johnson

SHEFFIELD OFFICE North East Regional Organiser

Nigel Jones

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ANNUAL REPORT 2013

APPENDIX 6:

GENERAL BRANCHES LONDON BRANCHES

NORTH AND EAST LONDON Covering: City of London, Islington, Hackney, Haringey, Enfield, Camden (WC1and WC2 only), Westminster (WC2 only), Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Newham, Redbridge and Barking. INEZ THORN nel.equity@gmail.com NORTH WEST LONDON Covering: Camden (excluding WC1 and WC2), Brent, Barnet, Harrow and Westminster (W1, W9, NW1, NW6 and NW8 only). ELISE HARRIS eqnwlondon@gmail.com

WEST AND SOUTH WEST LONDON Covering: Westminster (W2 and SW1 only), Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Wandsworth, Richmond, Kingston, Merton and Sutton JENNIFER THORNE 56 Melrose Av LONDON, SW19 8BX Tel: 020 8946 1859 SOUTH AND SOUTH EAST LONDON Covering: Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Croydon, Bromley and Bexley. LIZZIE HOLLAND mail@eholland.plus.com

GENERAL BRANCHES OUTSIDE OF LONDON CARDIFF AND SOUTH WALES PHILIP RAPIER philip.rapier@hotmail.co.uk

ESSEX MARTYN HARRISON mhrson@gmx.com

CENTRAL ENGLAND KELLEY COSTIGAN Tel: 07958 754904 Email: kelley.malfi@btinternet.com

HERTFORDSHIRE & DISTRICT LYNN ROBINS herts.equity@gmail.com

BRIGHTON AND SUSSEX SUSI ODDBALL susioddball2k@yahoo.co.uk and SHIRLEY JAFFE shirleymatilda@gmail.com BRISTOL & WEST ROLAND OLIVER Email: equity.bristolwestgen@googlemail.com

HOME COUNTIES WEST NATALIE JENNO branch_sec_hcw@btinternet.com ISLE OF MAN JOANNE DAINTON Oak Lodge 38 Vicarage Park DOUGLAS, Isle of Man, IM2 2QE Tel: 01624 61907

DEVON AND CORNWALL NIGEL HOWELLS howellsnj@gmail.com

KENT MARIE KELLY Tel: 07703 207878 Email: kellygreenproductions@hotmail.co.uk

DORSET CHRIS GALLARUS chris-gallarus@hotmail.co.uk

LIVERPOOL AND DISTRICT GENERAL CATH RICE wallcatherine3@gmail.com

EAST OF SCOTLAND HELEN RAW 9/5 Dorset Place Edinburgh, EH11 1JQ Tel: 0131 478 5342

NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND SUE REID eidsuereid@aol.com

NORTHERN IRELAND CAROL MOORE c.moore62@btinternet.com Tel: 02890 704402 NORTH LANCS AND CUMBRIA PETER RYLANDS peter.rylands@btinternet.com NORTH WALES C/o Equity Transport House 1 Cathedral Road Cardiff, CF1 9SD Tel: 029 2039 7971 NORTH WEST OF ENGLAND DAVID CORDEN Tel: 0161 273 5990 email: equity.nwegb@virgin.net YORKSHIRE RIDINGS PETE KEAL 01422 885211, equity.yrgb@gmail.com

Incorporating the Variety Artistes’ Federation President: MALCOLM SINCLAIR Vice Presidents: DAVID COCKAYNE (until Feb 2013, replaced by NATASHA GERSON) and JEAN ROGERS Honorary Treasurer: BRYN EVANS General Secretary: CHRISTINE PAYNE Council 2012-2014 (elected 2012) General Laura Bailey Ian Barritt Jo Cameron Brown Anna Carteret Stephanie Cole Jonathan Coy Nick Fletcher Peggy-Ann Fraser Graham Hamilton Joseph Kloska Belinda Lang Pauline Moran Frederick Pyne Jean Rogers Brodie Ross John Webb Samuel West Audio Artists Laurence Bouvard Choreographers Paul Mead Chorus & Ensemble Steve Fortune Tom Emlyn Williams Dance Natasha Gerson

Minority Ethnic Artists Mark Holden Opera Bryn Evans Singers Simon Preece Stage Managers Adam Burns Stunt Performers Chris Webb Theatre Designers David Cockayne Theatre Directors Di Christian TIE & YPT Andy Medhurst Variety, Light Entertainment & Circus Annie Bright Dave Eager Mary Lane Brenda Marsh Tina May Rhubarb the Clown

Walk-ons Christine Bucci Paul Kirby London Area Peter Barnes Midlands Area Sally Treble Northern Area Yvonne Joseph Northern Ireland Louis Rolston Scotland Isabella Jarrett South East Area Michael Branwell South West Area Nicky Diprose Wales Julia Carson Sims

Head Office: Guild House, Upper St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9EG. Tel: 020 7379 6000 Regional Offices North West: Express Networks, 1 George Leigh Street, Manchester M4 5DL. Tel: 0161 244 5995 North East: The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX. Tel: 0114 275 9746 Midlands: Office 1, Steeple House, Coventry, CV1 3BY. Tel: 02476 553612 Scotland & Northern Ireland: 114 Union Street, Glasgow G1 3QQ. Tel: 0141 248 2472 Wales & South West: Transport House, 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF1 9SD. Tel: 029 2039 7971