Irish Equity membership brings with it a range of benefits READ MORE
Death of Deirdre Friel, former RTÉ Producer Director and Equity member
The death has occurred of Deirdre FRIEL KELLY ( Wife of Barry Kelly)
Monkstown, Dublin / Bunbeg, Donegal
Our deepest sympathy to the Friel and Kelly families on the death of our colleague Deirdre Friel , former RTÉ TV Producer – Director.
Notice:
FRIEL KELLY, Deirdre (Bunbeg, Co. Donegal, formerly of Monkstown, Co. Dublin and late of RTÉ). March 29th 2017. Peacefully, in the care of the staff in the Cara Ward at St. Vincent’s Private Hospital. Beloved wife of the late Barry and loving mother of Niamh, Sara and Oisín. Sadly missed by her son, daughters, sons-in-law Johnny and Denis, Oisín’s partner Mars, grandchildren Daniel, Shane, Ben, Barry, Abbie and Donal, sisters Mary and Isolde, brother Michael, extended family, relatives and friends. May she rest in peace.
Reposing on Friday afternoon, March 31st, from 4pm to 5pm in Carnegies Funeral Directors, The Crescent, Monkstown. Funeral Mass at 10.00 am on Saturday, 1st April, 2017 in St. Patrick’s Church, Monkstown followed by Cremation at Mt. Jerome Crematorium, Harold’s Cross, D6w. Family flowers only please.
Date Published: Thursday 30th March 2017
Date of Death: Wednesday 29th March 2017
2017 Irish Equity AGM
NOTICE FOR MEMBERS: The 2017 Irish Equity AGM will take place in the Theatre in Liberty Hall on Sunday April 9th. Doors will open for 2pm for a 2.30pm start and the meeting will finish no later than 5.30pm. The full agenda will be sent to you in advance of the meeting.
This year the Equity Executive have decided to have a guest speaker at the AGM. This speaker will talk about the issue of taxation for performers and will cover issues such as double taxation, working as self-employed, working under an exclusion order, working with a duality of engagement arrangement and other issues. If you have a question about taxation, please email it to us at equity@siptu.ie by Friday March 24th so that we can ensure our expert can address as many queries as possible on the day.
The speaker will give a 15minute presentation at 4.30pm there will be a question and answer session thereafter.
The format for the business of the AGM will be similar to last year with motions moved from the rostrum. Movers of motions will have 5 minutes speaking time; seconders of motions will have 3 minutes and all other speakers will also have 3 minutes. The mover of motions will also have a 3-minute right of reply.
Motions Motions to the AGM must be submitted in writing to equity@siptu.ie on or before Friday March 24th.
Elections
Nominations for elections to any of the following must also be submitted in writing on or before Friday March 24th 2017 to equity@siptu.ie
Position of President
Position of Vice President
Committee Members (10)
Trustees (2)
Election of Board of Appeals Committee (3)
Attendance
Attendance is open to all benefit members of the union. If you are unsure of the status of your membership you can call Aileen on 01 8586304 or email us on equity@siptu.ie as your subscription must be paid in advance or on the day for you to be eligible to attend.
This annual meeting is an important meeting for catching up to date with the work of the union, for interacting with other members of the union, sharing information and generally being part of the professional performing community in a practical way. Please make every effort to attend.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Karan O Loughlin
Irish Equity
Padraig Murray
President, Irish Equity
Special offer for Irish Equity members!
As part of impending VOYAGE week at the Civic Theatre, Tallaght, they are offering three great workshops for actors and aspiring writers – at a cost not to be believed! [Read more…]
End the gender pay gap
Because of the gender pay gap, Irish women effectively work the last 71 minutes of the day for free. We’re asking women in Ireland to take action this week by posting a #clockedout selfie on social media at 15:50 to mark the moment the pay gap kicks in.
Time to #CloseTheGap #clockedout…
See More
SIPTU calls for women to take action on the gender pay gap by organising in unions
SIPTU has called for women to become organised in their unions so that effective action can be taken to overcome the gender pay gap which Eurostat figures published on International Women’s Day (Wednesday, 8th March) indicate is still prevalent throughout the economy.
SIPTU National Campaigns and Equality Organiser, Karan O Loughlin, said: “Despite making up over 46% of the workforce in the EU women in general are still earning less than their male counterparts. On average women are earning 84 cent for every €1 earned by male workers. This is even worse in the arts sector where women on average earn as little as 77 cent for every €1 earned by their male colleagues.
“The Eurostat figures confirm that in general the gender pay gap is lower in the public sector as pay agreements, arrived at by collective bargaining, provide better protection for women against pay discrimination. Collective bargaining coverage is much lower in the private sector and as a result the gender pay gap is more pronounced.
“There are various reasons for the existence and size of a gender pay gap such as the preponderance of women in low pay jobs, as well as the negative consequences of career breaks or part-time work due to childbearing. The lack of affordable and accessible childcare in Ireland is a huge barrier to equality of opportunity and equality of outcome for women.”
She added: “It is a shame to say that the top three issues of concern for women in work in Ireland, which were highlighted in the Royal Commission on Labour Report of 1894, of child care, low pay and the length of the working day, are still very live issues today. It is well past time for all the stakeholders in society to reflect on this and to consider how we can deal with the continuing existence of systematic inequality for women.
“Organisations need to look at their own practices and pay for women workers. Gender audits and pay audits should be carried out to identify where women are positioned and to establish if there is a gender pay gap in existence. However, most importantly women workers need to organise themselves in to trade unions to collectively deal with the gender pay gap and inequality in the workplace.”
Irish Equity welcomes progress of Bill to return collective bargaining rights to freelance workers
SIPTU has welcomed the progress of the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016, from the Seanad to Dáil Eireann. This Bill, which seeks to return collective bargaining rights to freelance workers, was debated in the Dail on Tuesday (28th February) and continues to travel through the legislative process with all party support.
Irish Equity Organiser, Karan O’Loughlin, said: “We are very pleased that this Bill, which seeks to return the right to collective bargaining for actors, freelance musicians and journalists continues to have all party support. This important legislation is travelling a long journey, originating as it did in the Seanad and when complete will allow Irish Equity, the Musicians Union of Ireland (MUI) and the NUJ to negotiate effectively for their members and in particular for the Irish Equity members who are working as voiceover actors. Irish Equity will continue to work with the Government and all interested parties to ensure that the Bill moves through the Select Committee stage as efficiently as possible”.
Graham Macken, MUI Organiser, said: “The exploitation of freelance musicians is nothing short of shocking. Musicians and actors are the original precarious workers and this legislation offers a unique opportunity to rectify this though effective collective bargaining”.
Irish Equity President Padraig Murray, said: “It has been 12 years now since the Competition Authority prevented our union from negotiating effectively for Irish Equity voiceover actors and this has seen a significant deterioration in the terms and conditions under which these artists work. We have been lobbying hard all this time and we gathered in the gallery of the Dáil to watch the debate with interest. We are very appreciative of the support all of the parties are giving to this Bill and we will continue to press for the enactment of the legislation.”
Just Starting Out?
- Make sure you are a member of the
professional actors union Irish Equity - Make sure you have a good quality clear head
shot with an up to date CV that covers all relevant
education and experience - Your headshot/CV needs to be circulated to as many
casting directors as possible - Keep updating your skills with relevant workshops
- Build up a network of others in the industry to
keep abreast of what goes on and what’s coming up - Come to the Equity AGMS, follow us on Facebook
and Twitter – be part of your performers community - Join a co-op or consider getting an agent
- Have a good social media presence and follow
casting directors on Facebook/Twitter etc.
Lunchtime talks from the creative minds at the forefront of Irish culture, science and the arts
First Up: Creative entrepreneurs on breaking through
A series of lunchtime talks from the creative minds at the forefront of Irish culture, science and the arts.
on Wednesday, 8th March from 1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.
Paccar Theatre
The unique individuals featured in the First Up series believed in an idea and did everything possible to make that idea work. They invested in their own talent and creativity in order to create a career or lifestyle suited to their vision and personal aspirations.
The speakers will tell their own stories from the beginning, how they developed their ideas and will share their plans for the future.
Graham McLaren and Neil Murray were appointed as joint Directors of the Abbey Theatre in 2016. Both came to the Abbey Theatre from the National Theatre of Scotland, Graham as Associate Director and Neil as Executive Producer. Together, they are responsible for the Abbey’s programming from 2017 onwards.
You can see the full line up of speakers here.
First Up is a collaboration based at Trinity College Dublin between Science Gallery Dublin and Trinity Long Room Hub.
Equity calls for action on “pay to play” scams
In the USA there is a labour law referred to as the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act which prevents the charging of actors for auditions even when those auditions are disguised as workshops. [Read more…]
