In 2022, our Copyright Committee will be looking at issues relating to ‘residuals’ – giving workers ‘points’ in films that they work on.
Just going through the archives, I’ve found The Relph Report from 2002 [pdf] that talked about how low-budget films could deal with the demands for low paid long-hours work.
From the executive summary:
“On the part of crew, the code of practice would include willingness to work for basic rates, without guaranteed payment for overtime that will not necessarily be worked, an openness to multi-tasking and to working within a smaller crew and agreement to live and work on location outside the normal expectations of first-class hotels and catering.
In return, producers would guarantee civilised minimum conditions, proper payment for hours worked and an element of deferral that links the crew directly to the success of the film. It is a key element of all the proposals that financiers should accept that all participants: director, producer, main cast and crew, should have access to a corridor of revenues in return for accepting a smaller scale of earnings over a longer time.”
The idea never went anywhere and I’d not even say it’s something that we’d support but it’s worth noting it.