/R E P E A T -- Strike at Fantasia Film Festival/

MONTREAL, July 10, 2024 /CNW/ - Workers at the Fantasia film festival will be on strike tomorrow, Thursday, to get the employer to seriously consider the issues put forward at the bargaining table, where it is struggling to offer minimum wage to the sixty or so employees at the 2024 edition of the festival.

"Fantasia wants to keep our freelance status for this year's festival, even though we've been unionized since September 2023. The employer's lack of preparation for nearly a year is extremely disappointing," says Justine Smith, who sits on the negotiating committee of the Syndicat des employé-es de l'événementiel–CSN, Festival Fantasia section. A picket line will therefore be in place tomorrow, July 11, in front of the offices at 1455 De Maisonneuve West in Montreal.

The Fantasia union, like two other festival unions, the Fondation Québec Cinéma and the Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC), which have already signed their first collective agreements, is part of the Syndicat des employé-es de l'événementiel-CSN.

The union is hoping to reach a tentative agreement at the bargaining table as soon as possible, to improve the current working conditions of unionized employees and avoid a continuation of the strike during the festival, which kicks off on July 18. Further days of strike action could follow next week if talks do not progress satisfactorily. Union members had voted unanimously for five strike days at the appropriate time last June.

A Growing Trend in the Cultural Sector

"Like many workers in the cultural world, event industry employees want to join a union because they are demanding better working conditions, namely, to be recognized as workers in their own right, and to be paid for all hours worked, just like everyone else who has to pay rent and buy groceries. And stop being treated as mere freelancers, from whom more work can always be demanded for the same initial lump sum", says Annick Charette, President of the FNCC-CSN.

"The CSN is determined to defend the rights of workers in the cultural sector, who for too long have been left to their own devices, with working conditions that are highly unequal, precarious and sometimes even illegal. The minimum wage is already woefully inadequate. We're fighting to raise it significantly. It's inconceivable that some people don't even get $15.75 an hour" adds François Enault, 1st vice-president of the CSN.

About Fantasia

Founded in 1996, the Fantasia International Film Festival is celebrating its 27th edition this year. With an estimated audience of over 100,000 visitors since 2016, it has helped popularize "anti-Hollywood" independent films in genres as diverse as science fiction, fantasy, comedy and action, and introduced new talent from around the world.

About the FNCC-CSN

The FNCC–CSN has 6,000 members in 80 unions working in the fields of communications, journalism and culture. It is one of the eight federations of the CSN, which brings together 330,000 workers in the public and private sectors in every region of Quebec.

About the CSN

Founded in 1921, the CSN is Quebec's first major central labour body. Made up of nearly 1,600 unions, it defends the interests of more than 330,000 workers in all sectors of activity, and takes part in many of Quebec society's fundamental debates for a more united, democratic, equitable and sustainable society.

SOURCE Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture (FNCC–CSN)

For further information, please contact: Thierry Larivière, CSN Information Advisor, [email protected] ; 514-966-4380