Saga says actors will be offered contracts that are favorable to the commercial interests of broadcasters and producers.
The South African Actors Guild (SAGA) has written two open letters to the Ministers of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and the Department of Employment and Labor.
Saga Prefecture is calling on both ministries to intervene over the issue of non-payment of freelance actors involved in film and television production.
Saga said in the letter that actors are being offered contracts that are favorable to the commercial interests of broadcasters and producers. He accused the broadcaster and producers of exploiting the actor's lack of bargaining power.
Another claim in the letter is that the cultural and creative industries are an unregulated sector, which “leads freelancers, especially previously disadvantaged people, vulnerable to unethical and abusive work practices.” It's a thing.
The characters in Saga are named after the cast of BET Africa. queendom After months of non-payment, he wrote a scathing open letter to Minister Gayton McKenzie in December.
Mr Saga's letter was sent on Thursday night but has yet to receive a response.
“We received a response from the Employment and Labor Department with a notification of receipt, but we received nothing from DSAC,” said Saga Prefectural Commissioner Jack Devnaline. The Citizen.
Saga is a nonprofit organization representing the legal, economic, and contractual rights of professional actors in film, television, live theater, voiceover, commercials, corporate production, and more.
Also read: Saga chairman Jack Devnarain accuses Ramaphosa of being 'forced' to send Bills to competition
I can't even protest
The actors decided to send an open letter because, as freelancers, they are not protected by labor laws and cannot picket or protest.
“That's the question: If you are protected under labor law as an employee, you have the right to take industrial action,” Devnarain said.
“Industrial action only applies to employees. Freelance actors are not considered employees in South Africa. We are not protected by labor law, so we are seeking protection.
“We can’t ask people to jeopardize their freelance contracts by breaching the contract and taking down tools or taking other forms of industrial action.”
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Not affiliated with the Bills
Debnarain said the letter has nothing to do with the Performers Protection Amendment Bill (PPAB) or the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB), which could dramatically change the lives of actors.
In October 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa referred the bill to the Constitutional Court for a ruling on its constitutionality.
“Let me be clear: the President does not want to sign the bill and has referred it to the Constitutional Court because he feels the bill violates certain constitutional principles,” Devnarain said. he said.
A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for February.
Speaker Saga alleges that Mr McKenzie, while speaking at the creative industries sector organizers' conference at the Birchwood Conference Center in August last year, said he would recommend that Mr Ramaphosa not sign the bill.
“We are simply expressing our disappointment that Minister Gayton McKenzie has publicly indicated that he intends to instruct the President not to sign the bill,” Debnarain said.
“We felt that this was a grave betrayal of the actors' cause. The actors had no right to sign the bill to earn their statutory right to royalties while the bill was in Congress. So if the Minister for Sport, Arts and Culture is against actors receiving royalties, we have a serious problem.”
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