Major international arts and entertainment unions, employers, industry bodies, and governments have agreed on their first framework for a decade to improve workers’ rights after a week of tough negotiations in Europe. The high-level technical meeting, which took place February 13-17 at the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first for the entertainment industry since 2014, according to the UNI Global Union. The ILO is, in the agency’s own words, “The only tripartite U.N. agency since 1919 the ILO brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 Member States, to set labor standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all women and men.”

Representing more than 1M workers, reps from BECTU, IATSE, and SAG-AFTRA attended the talks, along with the European Broadcasting Union and the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.  For those who don’t know, BECTU stands for the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications, and Theatre Union, IATSE stands for The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and SAG-AFTRA refers to The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Government ministers from all over Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America were also present to sign off on this historic blueprint. However, no one from either the UK or U.S. governments attended the meeting. The group debated issues such as long hours, insufficient pay, and inequalities before drawing their conclusions, which place heavy emphasis on worker’s collective bargaining as a tool for improving work conditions. According to Deadline “Philippa Childs, Head of the UK broadcasting union BECTU, and Vice President of UNI Global Union’s Media Entertainment & Arts sector (UNI MEI), said: “The pandemic gave workers a chance to reflect and really think about the impact of long and unsustainable hours on their work-life balance. Many have left the industry and it’s uncertain they will return, leading to the skills shortage that we have in the UK and globally. We need to improve working conditions and opportunities if we are to turn this situation around.”

Globally, many entertainment industry workers have been impacted by Covid-19 in recent years, with many companies downsizing or spending less on freelance. one Impacted industry is the movie theater industry, in which several companies have had to close locations all across The United States. Issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and inflated living costs have caused further damage to the global economy.