The Members of UBCP/ACTRA have ratified a new British Columbia Master Production Agreement (BCMPA) negotiated with the Canadian Affiliates of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Canadian Media Producers Association – BC Producers Branch (CMPA-BC) with 94% of those who voted voting in favour of the new agreement.

The new Agreement includes a nine percent (9%) wage increase over the next three (3) years, and  precedent setting increased protections for Performers regarding sexual harassment, including provisions that prohibit auditions or meetings in private hotels or residences where the performer is alone with a representative of production. The new sexual harassment language represents the most up-to-date provisions negotiated into any performer collective agreement.

“With this agreement, we’ve raised the bar when it comes to protecting performers from sexual harassment.” said Alvin Sanders, President of UBCP/ACTRA. “The dialogue must and will continue, but we feel this is a very significant first step.”

The new agreement also includes improvements for performer compensation on productions made for New Media, as well as enhanced protections for performers who experience fatigue at the end of their work day.

“We’ve seen an accelerated movement towards productions made for New Media here in BC over the last few years.” said Sanders.  “With this new agreement, we’ve ensured that performers will be fairly compensated for their work on productions made for digital platforms.”

The deal was unanimously endorsed by the bargaining committee and the Union’s Executive Board.

The new 2018 – 2021 Agreement will take effect on April 1, 2018. The Memorandum of Agreement can be found here.