URGENT - Text of a proposed Collective Grievance to be adopted by workers at DNEG, London

This document was created by DNEG employees in consultation with BECTU officials. The text of the Collective Grievance that will be send to DNEG Management will be as follows:

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To DNEG HR Department.

We, the undersigned, wish to lodge a collective grievance about the way in which DNEG are consulting staff about the proposed pay cuts. We understand that this is a very challenging time for the company, and to be completely clear, we are not, and will not, ask the company to do anything that will result in job-losses.

We do not accept that asking for a longer and meaningful consultation will do anything to damage the company’s trading position or its capacity to preserve jobs as the company has already proposed retrospective pay cuts at one point during this consultation.

In return for an agreement to consult with us according to the terms set out below, we will agree that any changes agreed by that meaningful consultation can be backdated to the date currently proposed by the company. Indeed, the company will have our support for any reasonable changes to the employment contract if they can be shown to retain staff at current levels.

Individuals have already been told that it is likely that this wage-cut consultation may soon also be followed by job-cuts and a reduction to the headcount at DNEG. We believe that we should not conclude any consultation about wage cuts until we have also had a meaningful consultation about job-losses that are likely to follow in the short-medium term.

We believe that, if any jobs are lost in the near future, should also be done fairly as part of a redundancy process with a full consultation and that people with less than two years of service should be treated in the same way as everybody else.

We do not believe that it is fair to treat people working on Fixed Term Contracts in the same way as people on permanent contracts who will have their jobs preserved by these cuts, and we believe that these people should be treated differently. These people have less of a stake in ‘saving jobs at DNEG’ and it is unfair to ask them to take the same cuts as everybody else.

This brings us to the substance of our grievance.
We object to the speed that this consultation is being done in. The company has still not shared all of the details of the current proposal with the staff and we are still hearing rumours about an ‘equity pool’ among other things, yet the consultation period end-date is imminent.

We are asking the company to halt the current consultation and re-start it as a meaningful collective consultation that is done to an agreed and reasonable time-scale. We do not accept the proposed changes, and if the company refuses to offer a meaningful consultation, we will be forced to either work under the new terms under protest while exploring all legal means at our disposal to compel the company into a meaningful collective consultation, or resign our positions. Individuals who are party to this collective grievance may take a different position on this question.

Our understanding of a meaningful collective consultation is as follows:·      

• Staff should be invited to elect a representative group of representatives from among the staff who can meet privately and negotiate collectively.·      

• It is important that we can verify the company’s claims about its trading position and prospects, along with the claims about the reasons that these changes are being sought.·      

• These staff should be given privileged access, under terms of confidentiality, to the details of the company’s finances, trading position, along with the forecasts that DNEG are basing their projections on.

The reps elected in a collective consultation should be able to appoint independent advisors of our choice. They should be able to work under similar terms of confidentiality to advise us on the company’s understanding of its trading position. It is important that all staff can reassure themselves that these wage-cuts are being proposed for the reason that the company is giving to staff.

It is also important that the balance of risk is being shared fairly between staff and shareholders, but also fairly among staff with different kinds of staff being treated fairly. At the moment, we are not clear that this is the case.

The group of representatives should be elected to include a representative group of everyone including people on Fixed Term Contracts, staff who have been furloughed, people with less than two years of service, people who have a long record of service, people who are on part-time or job-share contracts, along with representatives from all departments.

We are asking for this grievance to be conducted according to the company’s handbook, and with reference to ACAS guidance on best practice in cases such as this. Some of us would like to hold this grievance collectively, and some of us may be prepared to have their grievance heard personally. Those of us who wish to have their grievance heard collectively reserve the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative. We will be prepared to do this on a Zoom call if necessary.

We strongly urge the company to agree to this request. It is a very reasonable and minimal response to being unilaterally asked to accept pay-cuts of up to 25% and doing so will help to foster the goodwill that the company is going to need between staff and management going forwards.

Signed by: _____________________________________

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If you work at DNEG London, and you wish to take part in, and support this Collective Grievance, click the button!

Women in Animation and VFX: Negotiating pay and salary - EVENT HOST!

Simone Giampaolo is a director and animator from Switzerland with an insatiable appetite for storytelling. He will be our host and moderator for the evening.

In 2013, Simone graduated with Distinction from the BA(Hons) Computer Animation Arts course at the National Centre for Computer Animation in Bournemouth (UK).
Between 2014 and 2018 Simone has been working as Animation Director and CG Generalist in the commercial department at Blue-Zoo Animation in London - on a multitude of projects for clients such as Cartoon Network, Disney, LEGO, Nickelodeon, Marvel, Lucasfilm and BBC.

He is now repped by Aardman Animations as Commercial Director.

To find out more about Simone, check out his website: simone-giampaolo.com

It is sure to be a lively evening! GET TICKETS!

Women in Animation and VFX: Negotiating pay and salary - HUGO GUERRA!

Adding decades of professional experience and leadership to our panel roster on Thursday January 30th is Hugo Guerra

Hugo is an award-winning Director, VFX Supervisor and former Head of Nuke Compositing at the Mill London. Originally from Portugal, he has collaborated with studios like Animech, BBC, Nexus, JellyFish, The Mill, Fire Without Smoke and Sony Studios. During his 20 year career, he has worked with clients like Audi, Adidas, Nike, IKEA, Panasonic, Discovery Channel, Sony, Activision, Deep Silver, FatShark, Ubisoft, to name a few. In 2014, Hugo worked with Fire Without Smoke as a Director and VFX Supervisor in various game cinematics for many triple-A titles like Just Cause 3, Until Dawn, Homefront The Revolution, EVE Valkyrie, The Crew, The Division, Walking Dead March to War, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Assasins Creed, Warhammer Vermintide 2, FarCry New Dawn to name a few. Hugo is currently working for Sony Playstation and Sony Pictures as a freelance Visual Effects Supervisor on an “unannounced” high profile film project. Hugo is also a member of the Visual Effects Society and part of the advisory board for both the NFTS and the Norwich Art School. He’s been very active as teacher and lecturer of Visual Effects, making many keynotes all over the world for BenQ, Foundry, and Ftrack. Hugo also runs the YouTube channel Hugo’s Desk where he makes free tutorials and videos about VFX, gaming, and tech.

Check out more guests confirmed and GET TICKETS!

Check Hugo’s Work latest here: https://www.youtube.com/c/hugosdesk

Follow Hugo’s Desk here: https://www.youtube.com/c/hugosdesk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HugoCGuerra

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hugo.c.guerra/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hugocguerra/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hugosdesk

Renaming our branch to the Animation and Visual Effects Union!

The Bectu VFX union has a new name, the Animation and Visual Effects Union! While still 100% Bectu, we have now merged forces with Bectu's Animation Branch to form the Animation & VFX Union (AVU).

The number of fully animated projects in the UK is rising, including a number of VFX studios starting to produce fully animated content, and with UK animation possibly being the biggest it has ever been, we feel it is high time animation workers had a union.

While major VFX studios are now diving in with fully animated projects (MPC's recent Lion King remake, DNEG/Locksmith and Jellyfish working on feature animated films for Disney, Warner Bros and Dreamworks), there are also already a multitude of UK facilities solely producing fully animated content; animation powerhouses like Aardman, Blue Zoo, Passion Pictures, Studio AKA and Axis Animation.

In lieu of our new name and website, we feel it is also time we initiated more regular monthly communication with our membership and prospective members, and we would love to hear from you all (animvfxunion@gmail.com) on anything you would like to hear more about from your union. This next month we'll also be diving in with some history of animation in the UK. Please keep an eye out for future monthly updates here and on the following social media channels:

facebook.com/animvfxunion
twitter.com/animvfxunion
instagram.com/animvfxunion

If They Believe In It, Why Can't We?

The PACT Agreement for Major Motion Pictures

A new agreement covering major motion pictures production was decisively voted for by BECTU members in November 2017. It is the first of its kind in the UK and was implemented on 2 April 2018. The agreement has been welcomed across the industry and is the result of a successful partnership between union reps, producers and employers' associations.Below are some of the highlights. The full agreement is available for download from the BECTU website.Please note that the agreement only applies to workers employed directly by the production companies, therefore not employees of VFX facilities, although this can change if enough VFX workers join the union and ask for it.…1.2 This Agreement will apply to all crew members engaged on Major Motion Pictures that commence principal photography after Monday 2 April 2018.1.3 For the purposes of this Agreement, a Major Motion Picture shall mean a feature film intended for initial cinematic exhibition with a production budget equal to or in excess of £30,000,000 (Thirty Million Pounds Sterling) (the Major Picture Threshold).2. The Working Day and the Working Week2.1 The Standard Working WeekThe Standard Working Week is a 55 hour 5 day work week. This can be varied by the producer upon payment of overtime and other premiums as set out in this Agreement, with the understanding that all overtime is voluntary.2.2  The Working Day – All crew during pre-production and non-shooting crew during principal photography 
Outside the period of principal photography and/or for non-shooting crew members, the standard working day comprises 11 hours worked with 1 hour for lunch (the Standard Working Day or SWD).(b) Post Production Crew: Post Production crew members will follow the Standard Working Week and the Standard Working Day applicable to non-shooting crew and will be entitled to Non-Camera Overtime, if applicable, in accordance with Section 3.3(a)(ii), but shall not be entitled to Camera Overtime. Start times will be the times at which each crew member starts work, which will not necessarily be the same as Unit Call times for the Post Production Department.Lunch breaks may be ‘staggered’ under the direction of the 1st Assistant Editor or Post Production Supervisor in co-ordination with production, and post-production crew members will be expected to manage their own time in order to take their breaks. Lunch break penalties shall not apply.3. Working Outside the Normal Working Day - Overtime3.2 Prep and Wrap(a) Specific Departments: For the following departments, the crew member’s rate is deemed to include, in addition to the 55 hours worked, up to 30 minutes at the beginning and 30 minutes at the end of each day, if required and in accordance with current working practices, without any overtime being due:- ADs- Accounts- Costume- Hair and Make-up- Locations- Production- Script Supervisor- VFX3.3 Overtime Rates(a) For the purposes of calculating overtime, the crew member’s hourly rate is deemed to be his/her contractual weekly rate divided by 55 (Hourly Rate), or for daily crew members, his/her contractual daily rate divided by 11 (save for Rigging Electricians whose rates are as per clause 2.2(a)). Overtime will be calculated at either the Hourly Rate multiplied by 1.5 (1.5T) or the Hourly Rate multiplied by 2 (2T), depending on whether overtime comprises Camera Overtime or Non Camera Overtime (see subsections 3.3(a)(i) and (ii) below). The attached Appendix details examples of overtime rates.(ii) Non-Camera Overtime including pre calls and de-rigs is paid at 1.5T for any overtime, payable in 30 minutes increments (and pro-rated accordingly for partial hours) and subject always to the Maximum Overtime Rate and the prep and wrap provisions of clause 3.2.(c) For all crew members, the overtime rate may be no more than £81.82 per hour (Maximum Overtime Rate). For the avoidance of doubt the Maximum Overtime Rate shall apply to all hourly rates uplifted hereunder including in relation to 6th and 7th days, Bank Holidays and Broken Turnaround.4. Working Outside the Normal Working Week - 6th and 7th Days4.1 6th Days(a) Any 6th consecutive day or night worked will be paid at 1.5T for actual hours worked, with a minimum guarantee of 6 hours for non-shooting crew and 8 hours for shooting crew.4.2 7th Days(a) Any 7th consecutive day worked will be paid at 2T for actual hours worked, with a minimum guarantee of 6 hours for non-shooting crew and 8 hours for shooting crew.4.3 For the avoidance of doubt:(a) Saturdays and Sundays shall not be paid as a premium day unless they are consecutive 6th or 7th days worked; and(b) all hourly rates for 6th and 7th days are subject to the Minimum Camera Overtime Rate and capped at the Maximum Overtime Rate.5.3 Broken TurnaroundsProducers should endeavour to give crew members eleven hours’ turnaround between the individual crew member’s wrap to his/her call (Turnaround Period). In the event of any shorter period of turnaround:(a) the producer should wherever possible allow the crew member to take an equivalent period of compensatory rest, and shall in any event afford the crew member such protection as may be appropriate in order to safeguard the crew member’s health and safety; and(b) in the event that a crew member is required to work during the Turnaround Period (Broken Turnaround) the crew member should be paid at 1.5T for any such time, which payment should accrue in 30 minute increments (and shall be pro-rated accordingly), subject to an overall cap of £45 per hour (or £22.50 per 30 minute increment).5.4 Meal Breaks(a) Standard Working Day (SWD): During principal photography crew members should be generally entitled to take their lunch break no later than 6 hours after unit call.If non-shooting crew are asked by the producers to shorten their lunch break from one hour, then infringed time will be paid in 30 minute increments at 1.5T.For the avoidance of doubt the Head of Department for non-shooting crew should manage their department so that crew members are able to take their lunch break (save as where requested above). In the event that such Head of Department wishes to curtail or delay the lunch break of crew members, prior approval must be sought from the Unit Production Manager, and the penalties above will apply.5.6 Bank Holidays(a) Where a crew member is contracted by the producer to work over a period which includes a United Kingdom official public holiday or foreign official public holiday where work takes place abroad (Bank Holiday), but the crew member is not actually required to work on that Bank Holiday, the crew member will be entitled to receive his/her daily fee for that Bank Holiday.(b) If a crew member is required to work on a Bank Holiday, the crew member will be entitled to be paid at 2T during such Bank Holiday, whether the crew member is working on a weekly or longer term basis or is engaged as a daily.…