UK television and film actors have said that they would be prepared to take industrial action to secure protections around artificial intelligence.
99.6% of Equity Union members voted to refuse to be digitally scanned on set to protect their AI rights. It comes as the union is negotiating agreements it holds with production trad body, Pact, to set the minimum standards for pay, terms and conditions for performers.
“Artificial intelligence is a generation-defining challenge. And for the first time in a generation, Equity’s film and TV members have shown that they are willing to take industrial action,” said Equity’s General Secretary, Paul W Fleming.
“90% of TV and film is made on these agreements. Over three quarters of artists working on them are union members. This shows that the workforce is willing to significantly disrupt production unless they are respected, and decades of erosion in terms and conditions begins to be reversed.
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“The US streamers and PACT need to step away from the brink, and respect this show of strength. We need adequate AI protections which build on, not merely replicate, those agreed after the SAG-AFTRA strike in the USA over two years ago.
“The union believes this can be resolved through negotiation, but 18 months of talks have led us to this stalemate. With fresh AI proposals, significant movement on royalties, and a package of modern terms and conditions, PACT and allied producers can turn this around. The ball is in their court when we return to the table in January.”
Equity said that the turnout was 75.1%, but that as an indicative ballot, it isn’t binding and doesn’t therefore cover its members to take industrial action – for that to happen a “statutory ballot” would be needed.
Should Pact refuse to put AI protections within the agreement, Equity said that it would hold a ballot for industrial action.
In 2023, members of SAG-AFTRA in the United States went on strike for 4 months over issues including artificial intelligence protections.
