NZ screen sector needs special employment framework to stay competitive

Posted Wednesday 24 Oct 2018

If the New Zealand screen sector wants to remain globally competitive, it needs its own employment framework, a working group says. Directors and Editors Guild head Tui Ruwhiu, NZ Writers Guild head Alice Shearman, and Ng? Aho Whakaari executive director Erina Tamepo, were among the 13 members who agreed on a series of recommendations, based on the view that the screen sector is unique and needed its own set of labour laws, and that workers can agree to either be employees or contractors. They also recommend extending the special status beyond a narrow definition of film production to cover TV, film, web, gaming, and emerging technologies in virtual and augmented reality. The group expects that bargaining will lead to different collective contracts for each major occupational group - such as technicians, writers, directors, actors and stunt people - and would set the minimum terms and conditions for contractors.