Bectu urges Animation and VFX employers seeking pay cuts to offer a fair negotiating deal

Animation and VFX companies are proposing significant cuts to wages, terms and conditions in response to the Covid-19 crisis, according to reports made to Bectu.

Members in DNeg’s London office are being pressed to accept pay cuts of 20% and 25% in some cases, and other companies are also discussing cuts.

In some cases, these proposals are posed as a “take-it-or-leave-your-job” package and very short consultation deadlines have been given to agree terms. Bectu is urging Animation and VFX companies to contact the union before they make any such proposal to staff to discuss plans and will be publishing guidance to all members on how to respond to these kinds of proposals.

The union is asking companies if they are asking for Covid-19-related changes to their working terms to consider:

• Giving  a detailed overview of their financial position to workers before requesting cuts
• Staff being able to access independent advice to interpret such information so that they can understand the way the burden of this issue is being shared between staff and shareholders
• If the company decides to impose pay-cuts, the cuts should be treated as loans from the workers which are paid back before any further dividends are paid to shareholders.
• Assurances should be given to staff affected by these changes about job-security. If they are asked to make a sacrifice in order to keep their job, all losses that are taken as part of that sacrifice should be repaid if they are subsequently made redundant.

Members have previously been rebuffed by employers when they have requested the ability to participate in employee share-ownership schemes.

Bectu assistant national secretary Paul Evans said: “Bectu recognises that that companies have to make adjustments at this difficult time, and the union welcomes any alternatives intended to reduce job-losses.

“We encourage employers to contact us before making any announcements so that we can reassure members that cuts in wages and terms are being requested for legitimate reasons, and not as an opportunity to continue the race-to-the-bottom that the industry often engages in, in respect to terms and conditions.

“The industry already has a skills shortage and experienced workers will leave in their droves if these cuts are part of a strategy to undercut competitors and accelerate this race to the bottom.

“Many companies offer minimum terms of sick-pay, redundancy, notice periods, pension provision and overtime arrangements. Our members are reacting quite badly now when management talk to them about “our” company. Shareholders have enjoyed the rewards. Now they should also be shouldering the bulk of the risks.”