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Campaign against Competition Authority Ruling

Workers Under Attack

The rights of many actors, musicians, film technicians and freelance journalists are under attack and need your support

Unless the Government acts soon, these workers – who are self-assessed for tax purposes – will lose the right to be collectively represented by trade unions. They have already lost many rights other trade unionists take for granted.

As two of the unions representing these workers, the National Union of Journalists and SIPTU (representing Irish Equity, the Musicians’ Union of Ireland and the Film and Entertainment Branch) have joined forces to fight this grave injustice.

Please take the time to study this brief account of how competition law is being used to deny a whole group of workers the right to union representation and to defend their pay and conditions.

These workers are commonly referred to as ‘freelance’ – a colloquial term which has no legal status.

The group members have a variety of different employment relationships.  When they work alone, as they often do, they are more vulnerable than their permanent staff colleagues. It is easier for employers to mistreat them. Yet these are the very workers who stand to lose rights if the Irish Government fails to take remedial action by reforming laws originally intended to benefit citizens.

Since 901, all Irish people have had the legal right to form trade unions and to take collective action without getting sued for breaking their contract of employment. More recently our Government signed the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work - a binding international treaty that commits the Irish State to respect those basic trade union rights.

But over the last few years the Competition Authority has begun to treat self-assessed workers – including actors, musicians, film technicians and freelance journalists – as if they were private companies. More and more workers are being denied trade union representation because of a flawed interpretation of their status.

For example, last year Irish Equity was forced to sign an undertaking that the union would not negotiate fees for actors working on commercials for private companies. The result is that many have suffered serious wage cuts, while being denied trade union representation on their behalf.  European Union competition law (which is on the statute books of all member states) says that companies may not work together in any way that might make them less competitive. Cartels, or groups of companies that agree to charge the same prices, are banned.  The object of this legislation is to prevent price fixing and the development of monopolies. Neither Brussels nor the Irish Government ever intended it to undermine workers’ trade union rights.

But, by creating the fiction that self-assessed workers are commercial companies, the Competition Authority has done just that, targeting some of the most vulnerable sectors of the workforce in the process.  Some other EU countries have introduced special protection for self-assessed workers but the Irish Government has not. So, some Irish citizens are losing century-old right because we have failed to enshrine the necessary protections in our laws.

So what does this mean for our members?
  • The NUJ cannot publish a fees guide for its freelance photographers and reporters.
  • Except where named musicians are being engaged, the Musicians’ Union is also prohibited from telling its members what is the “going rate” for a performance.
  • Irish Equity is prevented from negotiating with advertising companies even those who want to negotiate a performance rate with the union!

It is ironic that this is all being done in the name of ‘efficiency’ and ‘competition’. Actually, it doesn’t provide either.  The Competition Authority’s mistaken interpretation of the relevant EU Directive criminalizes employers and unions for collectively negotiating fees or rates for these workers. That will happen, even if the employer finds it administratively convenient to hammer out a rate with the union –and many do. So efficiency has nothing to do with the matter.  Nor does the Competition Authority’s action against these workers improve matters for the consumer. Most competition law does help us all by increasing the powers of the buyers (each one of us) against those of the sellers (the large companies). But in this sector, the buyer is the big company and the seller is an isolated actor, musician, film technician or freelance journalist. Unscrupulous employers are exploiting performers and journalists right now and not one cent of benefit is passed on to the public.

So what can be done?

The Government can introduce amendments to the Industrial Relations Act 1990 and other related legislation to extend the protection of trade unionism to this vulnerable sector.

At EU level the Irish Government can ensure that competition law is not used to undermine the rights of any class of workers. The EU Commission has dedicated itself to improving flexibility in employment. The denial of trade union representation to freelance workers is an injustice, which will frustrate that aim.

EU law does not prevent the Government and the Oireachtas from taking action to solve this problem.

SIPTU and the NUJ need your support to protect the rights of our members.

Musicians, freelance journalists, film technicians and actors are workers who need to be protected.

 




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