20m 30s
In this episode Lianna Etkind from the Living Wage Foundation and Melanie Iredale from Reclaim The Frame join Keith Arrowsmith and Tacita Small to discuss the importance of fair pay as a foundation for an inclusive and sustainable industry. They break down how the Statutory Living Wage differs from the Real Living Wage, what this can mean for freelancers and ancillary workers, and the consequences to the wider industry of paying low or no wages.
They explore challenges related to low pay, transparency in wages, and the disparity faced by marginalized communities, especially women and non-binary workers.
Lianna and Melanie share practical steps for employers to implement fair pay practices and stress that positive steps can be taken by signing up to the Real Living Wage, even if it is a phased process over time.
The WorkWise for Screen podcast is supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery Funding.
This episode covers:
Introductions, guest backgrounds and expertise, defining what "Fair Pay" actually means and how it intersects with gender equity in the Screen Industries (00:00 - 10:03)
Real Pay vs Fair Pay vs National Minimum Wage, how freelancers are uniquely affected by fair pay challenges and common misconceptions that hold back progress (10:03 - 17:23)
Positive industry trends and encouraging developments, practical steps forward for creating more equitable pay structures(17:23 - 19:33)
Key takeaways and insights for employers and freelancers working toward fair pay (19:33 - to end)
“I think we need to ask ourselves, do we want to be in an industry where only people who can afford to work for free who have those savings or that family support are the ones who can start a career in film or do we want a sector which is diverse and includes people from all sorts of different backgrounds, from all sorts of different socioeconomic backgrounds. And if you want a, a sector that actually represents the UK that represents audiences that we need to start with pay.” Lianna Etkind
“It's just kind of an expanded consciousness to think about all workers, not just directly employed staff, but third party workers as well. And when we accredit companies at the Real Living Wage Foundation, we support, uh, people to look at their contracts, to send template clauses to update those contracts, um, and also to give some phase in time as well. You know, people might have, uh, a year, two years, up to three years to actually phase in the real living wage to all of those contracts. If it's not possible legally to change it overnight. And that's fine as long as there is that commitment and that journey towards including the real living wage for everybody over time.” Lianna Etkind
“So I can tell you that on average the number of films that reach our screens theatrically, and I'm talking about international films but in UK cinemas, on average 20% are written or directed by women on marginalised gender filmmakers. And one of the things that we're really interested in, and this is where I think it really intersects with the idea of fair pay, not all releases are equal. 20% might be written or directed, by marginalised gender filmmakers, but bear in mind that not all releases get the same scale of release, and this is where pay comes in. Because marginalised directors generally, be that across any kind of protected characteristic, are often not commissioned to the same scale“. - Melanie Iredale
WorkWise for Screen:
https://www.workwiseforscreen.org.uk/en
Keith Arrowsmith:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/keitharrowsmith/
Tacita Small:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tacitasmall/
BFI:
National Lottery:
https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/
Lianna Etkind:
https://justfair.org.uk/amo-team/lianna-etkind/
Melanie Iredale:
https://www.reclaimtheframe.org/the-team