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MUMBAI:
With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) board approving a
new contract, the three-month long WGA strike is nearing an
end.
Two
ballots will be held, the first being for the contract to
be ratified by WGA members, which will take place over the
next few weeks by mail ballot and at a special membership
meeting.
The
deal is expected to go through considering that the WGA board
has given its seal of approval.
Before
that, though, a ballot will take place on whether to lift
the restraining order and end the strike during the ratification
process.
A
vote will take place on 12 February and if it is affirmative,
the strike ends immediately. A "no" vote means that
the strike will continue during the ratification process.
Responsesto
the deal were mixed, and those writers who want to be paid
every single time their work is shown on any platform are
not satisfying.
However,
for those who want to be paid fairly for their original work
and then a share of the royalty - if that work becomes a big
hit and has a longer shelf life - this deal provides assurance
of steady work.
The
studios' point of view is that they do not want to pay for
the same work twice but will pay for a share of the success
of a work.
The
deal that the Directors Guild of America (DGA) did with the
producers also helped the writers.
However,
on the flip-side, the WGA, during neogtiations, had dropped
entirely its demand for an increase in the home video residual
formula (for cassettes and DVDs), which has cost the writers
an estimated $15 billion since the mid-1980s.
The
companies will continue to pay writers very little for every
DVD.
Moreover,
on television ad-supported streaming, writers will receive
a fixed maximum fee of $1,308 in the first year of the contract
and $1,354 in its second year for the employer’s right
to reuse a programme for 12 months.
In
the third year, the contract provides for two per cent of
distributor’s gross, but there is an “imputed value”
(estimated value) of $80,000 for the distributor’s gross
for an hour-long programme.
So
the two per cent actually becomes a flat-fee cap of $1,600
a year.
Currently,
writers and directors make approximately $20,000 for the first
prime-time rerun of an hour-long episode.
The
WGA settled for approximately $1,300 in the first two years
of the contract, and $1,600 in the third.
Moreover,
the producers won a 17-day 'window' (24 days for episodes
of the first season of a series) during which they do not
have to pay any residuals to writers.
This
window is a major concession and will cost the writers clearly,
states a report in World Socialist Web Site.
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