UDA, APFTQ reach deal

MONTREAL — After more than six months of negotiations, the largest actors union and the producers association in Quebec have worked out a new collective agreement.

The two sides agreed on a deal Sunday, according to a statement issued by the APFTQ, though the contents will not be revealed until members of the Union des artistes vote in early July. The APFTQ must also vote on the deal, though no firm date has been set.

Last week, the UDA, which represents roughly 7,000 French-language performers, walked off the shoot of the TVA series Le coeur a ses raisons to pressure the APFTQ to respond to their demand for a ‘new model’ to better compensate actors working in the multi-channel, multi-platform universe.

UDA has said its members aren’t getting their fair share of the province’s increasingly profitable film and television industry, particularly revenue generated by specialty channels, DVD sales and the Internet.