TORONTO (Reuters) – The union representing Canadian actors said on Wednesday it has reached a tentative contract agreement with movie and television producers, ending a six-week strike.
The strike disrupted plans for several U.S. productions that had been set to be filmed in Canada, which is sometimes called Hollywood North because of the number of U.S. movies it attracts through tax breaks and lower costs.
“ACTRA’s first national strike is finally over,” the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, which represents 21,000 members across Canada, said on its Web site on Wednesday.
ACTRA made the deal with the Canadian Film and Television Production Association and the Association des producteurs de films et de television du Quebec, which negotiate on behalf of 400 production and related companies.
The agreement gives actors a 10 percent wage increase over three years and offers them a 3.6 percent share of revenues received for the use of their work on the Internet and other new media platforms, both sides said in a statement.
A settlement was first reached on February 16, but ultimately fell apart because Hollywood studios feared that the agreement’s new-media pay arrangements would set a precedent ahead of upcoming negotiations with unions in the United States.
“Last night, U.S. studios informed the CFTPA that they were going to permit it to sign the collective agreement negotiated with us,” ACTRA said on its Web site.
Other aspects of the deal include improvements to working conditions on sets and updated incentives to encourage low-budget, Canadian independent productions.
The agreement is subject to ratification by union members and members of the producer associations, but agreed rates take effect immediately. It covers all film and television production in Canada, with the exception of British Columbia, where there is a separate collective agreement.
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