A two-day federal mediation to settle the ACTRA strike ended inconclusively today, the producers’ trade association once again walking out of talks, after ACTRA declined to accept their first offer. Federal mediator Elizabeth MacPherson has invited the parties to additional talks by phone next week. ACTRA will participate in any discussions convened by the mediator.

Face-to-face negotiations cannot be resumed soon, because the CFTPA’s chief negotiator has refused to make himself available for the next two weeks. In a day-and-a-half of federal mediation, the two parties narrowed the issues slightly but failed to reach agreement.

Producers offered ACTRA members a token payment for internet use - an advance against royalties equivalent to 1% of pay a year for five years’ use. This offer would be paid for by providing no pay increase at all in the first year.

Mindful that film and television will be migrating rapidly to the internet, ACTRA is proposing that the issue of digital media be referred to a joint committee, or that internet distribution be paid for like any other form of royalty under ACTRA’s agreement.

“We were hopeful we would resolve this issue. We’re frustrated and disappointed that the CFTPA wasted the time of the Government of Canada’s chief mediator,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s Chief Negotiator.

“The producers appear to be hopelessly split among themselves. They were completely unprepared for these meetings, keeping us waiting for more than eight hours while they negotiated with each other. At the end of the day they basically re-submitted their old proposals and demanded we accept them. That’s not an approach to bargaining that’s going to get us to agreement.

“The producers’ trade association just put on a play for us, demonstrating why this issue should be sent to a joint committee,” said Waddell. Meanwhile, Waddell said that ACTRA is open for business.

“Producers interested in meeting deadlines and in continuing production are welcome to do so. We are going to continue to make agreements available and to protect industry stability as well as we can in these circumstances,” he said.