The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) said it is “ready to stand shoulder to shoulder” with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), following a unanimous vote of yes to industrial action last night (April 17) as part of WGA’s ongoing contract negotiations for improved pay and conditions.
WGGB refused to comment when asked by Screen if a UK writers’ strike could possibly follow and said it would issue further briefings should a US strike go ahead.
“The WGA membership has spoken with one voice,” said WGGB chair Lisa Holdsworth. ”Our fellow writers in the States have shown the power of a union – collective strength and solidarity – in their demand for meaningful change in the treatment of writers.
“Many of their issues are our issues. Their fight is our fight. We hope that the WGA reaches a deal but we are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with our sister union and their members in support of every writer’s right to be paid a decent rate for their work, to be treated with respect and to be financially rewarded for the success of their work – including subsequent use and sales.”
Last week, the WGGB said it in event of a WGA strike it would ”advise our membership not to work on projects within the jurisdiction of the WGA for the duration of the strike in line with our IAWG [International Affiliation of Writers Guilds] agreements”.
Results of a week-long online ballot ended on Monday afternoon and showed a 78.79% voter turnout, of which 97.85% or 9,020 WGA members voted in favour of strike authorisation and 2.15% or 198 members voted against. However, the vote does not make industrial action a certainty, with negotiations ongoing.
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