Montreal: Quebec’s craft and performers associations are applauding new government legislation which they say will speed up negotiations with film and tv producers.

The modifications, signed into law in the Quebec National Assembly June 11 in the form of Bill 64, are likely to give artist associations, particularly the smaller ones, more leverage in collective agreement talks in the future.

The modifications to the law governing relations between artists and producers, first adopted in 1987, were introduced by culture and communications minister Louise Beaudoin.

The signatory associations are: Guilde des musiciens du Quebec, the Directors Guild of Canada, Societe des auteurs, recherchistes, documentalistes et compositeurs, Syndicat des techniciennes et techniciens du cinema et video du Quebec, Societe professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Quebec, Union des Artistes and Associations des professionels des arts de la scene du Quebec.

Associations will now have the right to ask film and tv producers to collect union dues at the start of collective negotiations.

The associations have long expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of contract talks with the apftq. The producers say they have their hands full running businesses and managing 14 separate collective bargaining agreements.

‘Before an agreement would be in place producers would be required by law to deduct union dues and pay [them] to the Guild, so long as negotiations had begun,’ says Fortner Anderson, DGC Quebec business agent. Previously union dues have been paid only under the terms of a union contract, in ‘good faith’ agreements.

The other major change in the law stipulates both parties may now ask for binding arbitration of a first collective agreement.

Negotiations between the apftq and music composers, represented by the spacq, and art directors in the dgc, are among those sectorial wrangles that have dragged on for too long, according to the associations.