FOCUS □ COLLECTIVEBARGAINING The Hobbit Law The New Zealand government passed legislation to redefinethe employment status ofworkers, underpressure froma foreign corporation HELEN KELLY isPresident of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and aVice President of ICTUR In ernment lation October in drew a matter New up Zealand's of and days passed which National a piece redefined Party oflegisgov the ernment drewup and passeda piece oflegislationina matter ofdayswhichredefined the employment status ofworkers inthefilm industry , essentially underpressure from a foreign corporation , inorder tosecureinvestment ina lucrativeproject . The foreign corporation was Warner Brothers, the legislation was the Employment Relations(Film Production Work)Amendment Act,andtheproject was Peter Jackson's film production ofThe Hobbit. Whilethewhole Hobbitaffair might be seen from outsideas a peculiar anduniqueoccurrence itappearsmuchlessso whenseeninthecontext ofthepresent New Zealandgovernment's attack on workers'rights whichhas been partly premeditated and partly opportunistic. The 'Hobbit Law',as itwillforever be known,was certainly opportunistic, butalsohasitsrootsinrecent New Zealandcase law,and is whollysymptomatic of thepresent government's contempt for fairness in employment regulation. When the dispute between New Zealand Actors Equity and The Hobbit producers (Warners) first came to thepublic'sattention it was the actorswho were being accused of opportunism. Thefilm production hadbeenwaiting on the greenlightfromWarners forsome timeandjustwhenitseemedabouttobe litproduceranddirector Peter Jackson erupted withan extraordinary tirade about 'bully-boyunions' holdingthemto ransomby threatening to boycotttheproduction unlessactorscouldnegotiate collectivetermsand conditions.The picture paintedwas of actorswaitingfurtively forthe highest profile production to come alongwhich would providethe greatest leverageto secure exceptional benefits. Furthermore, theactors'questto have collectivenegotiations was declaredtobe illegalunder New Zealand law which allegedlyprevented independent contractors from negotiating collectively . Thiswas incorrect despitethenumerous legal opinions(including one generated by the Attorney Generalon halfthefacts). The truth of coursewas somewhatdifferent. Actors had been trying fora number ofyearsto holdproducers to theterms ofthe'PinkBook', anindustry document setting downguidelines for basicterms ofengagement foractorsbutwhich wereroutinely ignored and undermined byproducers .Actors has also tried targeting otherindividualNew Zealand productions fordirectbargaining andbeen threatened withshowcancelations and re-casting. The membersof New Zealand ActorsEquityhad agreed that they would take concertedactionand seek internationalsupport forthenextinternational production .Thanksto the numerouspostponements and delaysitso happenedthatthenextproductionturned outtobe The Hobbit.Itwas nottargeted ,itwas simply thenextcab off therank. Because none of thiswas widelyknownand becauseTheHobbitwas sucha highprofile productionfollowing in thefootsteps ofthehugely successful Lordof the Ringstrilogy, therewas immediately a groundswell of public opinion against theactorsand a beliefthatNewZealand was genuinely indanger oflosingtheproduction to overseas. Nevertheless, afterseveralweeks of negotiationsinvolving theNewZealandCouncil ofTrade Unionsand thegovernment itself, an agreement betweentheactorsand producers was reached. The actorsimmediately contactedtheirfellow actors' unionsaround theglobetoaskthem tolift any boycottof The Hobbit.Warners however playedfortimeandinsisted on holding anypublic announcement on the lifting of theboycott untiltheyhad consulted theJackson studioson thewording oftheannouncement. Days passed withno response. It can be no coincidencethatthe response finally came on theverydaywhen22,000New Zealandunionists marched inprotest atthegovernment 'santi-workerlaws which awaited Parliament's finalvote.On theafternoon ofour massralliesthefilm producers calleda meeting andtoldanuninformed crowdoffilm technicians thatThe Hobbitwas movingoverseas,thedispute was unsettled and the boycott stillon none ofittrue- and an impromptu demonstrationoftheseworkers was magically convened in central Wellington to brandthe actorsand the unionas unpatriotic Ludditevillainsin thefull glareofthemedia. The directintervention ofWarners Within a weekWarners executives wereflying to NewZealandtonegotiate directly with thePrime Minister about its demands in orderforthe Hobbittobe madeinNewZealand.Had theliftingoftheboycott been announcedthere would havebeen little left tonegotiate on - butthefictionwas maintained. Warner Brothers exploitedthe heatedpublic situation to gain anotherNZ$30 millionin tax breaksfrom thegovernment beforecommitting to make the filmin New Zealand. Theyalso wanted the law changed to removeworkers rights to employeestatusiftheywere bogusly employed as contractors - a problem unrelated to thedispute. Thègovernment was onlytoohappy to obligeby cobblingtogether theEmployment Relations(Film Production Work)Amendment Act.The new law made contractor the default position for everyone inthefilm andTVindustry. INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 4Volume 17Issue 4201 0 FOCUS □ COLLECTIVE BARGAINING You area contractor unlessyourcontract explicitly saysotherwise. The law change allegedly stemmedfrom Warners' nervousness over the uncertain employment status ofactors on theproduction wouldthey takelegalactiontoassert their status as employees ratherthan contractors? This debatebeganin 2005whena modelmakeron The Lord of the Ringssuccessfully exhausted every levelofthelegalprocessbefore beingpronouncedan employeerather thana contractor andtherefore entitled to provisions suchas holidaysand sickleave. It has yetto be provenhow watertight this shabby pieceoflegislation is,butata stroke the government was able to further erode the employment rights ofworkers inan entire industry , andtried (unsuccessfully inourview)topaint theunionsas obstructive strike-happy wreckers, andpaint themselves as saviours for thenation of a hugely popularfilm production. No matter that this dealflagrantly contravenes...