The Generations Soapie / SABC stand off

[LazyLion]

SABC SHOULD SET ASIDE GENERATIONS DISMISSALS: MWASA

The SABC should set aside the dismissals of the Generations actors who went on strike, and restart negotiations, the Media Workers Association of SA (Mwasa) said on Tuesday.

"This sinister and cynical move comes after repeated failures by both the SABC and the production company MMSV to engage in bona fide negotiation processes to address recurrent contractual issues of mutual interest raised in good faith by the workers," general secretary Tuwani Gumani said in a statement.

"What we have here is yet another regrettable display of failed bargaining processes."

The SABC announced on Monday that 16 actors who had embarked on a strike had been fired.

The national broadcaster's spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said the termination followed a call by both parties for the actors to return for recordings.

The cast claimed that the broadcaster as well as the production company, had failed to deliver on promises it made to them during their strike last year.

The cast was reportedly promised three year contracts which they had not received.

They also wanted salary adjustments.

On Monday, the actors wrote an open letter to viewers and fans explaining why they embarked on a strike.

Mwasa said it supported the actors' demands for improved working conditions, for competitive remuneration, for the consideration of fair compensation regarding royalties, rebroadcasts, sales and syndication.

"It is our submission that the actors, the SABC and MMSV productions should urgently consider setting aside the dismissal and work on returning to the negotiation table," said Gumani.

"A facilitated process would yield better results."


Source : Sapa /gq/jje
Date : 19 Aug 2014 08:01

 

[Hemi300c]

The cast claimed that the broadcaster as well as the production company, had failed to deliver on promises it made to them during their strike last year.

TIA and striking is the way to get what you want, or steal it.

 

[Greylor]

I generally have zero sympathy for actors looking for more money. They tend to be whiney b*tches at the best of times.

However, if the studio agreed to do certain things by a certain time, then they must do those things within the timeframe. If they are not going to make it within the timeframe, then they should let the actors know beforehand and apologize for the delay but assure them that it will get done.

From the article it seems like they just made the promises to get the actors back to work, and never intended to follow through with them. That is morally reprehensible and illegal. I've encountered that type of mentality before (in dealing with supplier accounts), and it's the hallmark of a failing enterprise. They're just pushing the ball along in order to keep operations going but are not dealing with the problem. When the problem inevitably comes up as an issue again (i.e. when they reach the deadline) they then act like it's the other party causing trouble again when in actual fact it's management ignoring the obligations that they agreed to...possibly because they never actually had the capacity to honour it in the first place.

 

[JustAsk]

I agree. The cost of these local shows is what pushes the cost of DStv up and puts SABC in bigger financial woes. It is a lot of money for a very small audience and it is not marketable worldwide to bring costs to the SA market down. In essence it is tough out there and then they go onto a strike as if we rely on them to provide entertainment. The arrogance knows no bounds. Tomorrow they will cry about them not having a job and the entertainment industry is so tough blah blah blah. They earn enough as it is. They will never earn what Hollywood actors get and if that is what they were truly after then I say good riddance.

Generations is the biggest moneymaker for the Sabc, by a long shot. After them, all big moneymakers are local productions.
Ad REvenue for a 30 second ad:
Generations - R220K
7de laan - R110K
mUVANGO - R90k
Their movies - R21K
Amazing Race - R68K

 

[Nerfherder]

Yeah but how do you get the characters in the same place & time without them acting towards the event?!

Typical knee jerk reaction from people in power in SA, even if it's just a soapie.

They should do a Marikana type storyline.

 

[JustAsk]

Find it interesting that it is this easy to fire them actors. Try this in any other sector and it goes pear shape for the business.

They are selfemployed. Contracts was breached, so terminated.

 

[Greylor]

They should do a Marikana type storyline.

"Generations actors strike. Police open fire! 9 dead!"
I'd buy that copy of the newspaper
And it would be more interesting than Generations!

 

[Y'all Qaeda]

/cares

......

 

[dlk001]

Generations is the biggest moneymaker for the Sabc, by a long shot. After them, all big moneymakers are local productions.
Ad REvenue for a 30 second ad:
Generations - R220K
7de laan - R110K
mUVANGO - R90k
Their movies - R21K
Amazing Race - R68K

Thanks for the info.

Any idea how much do these actors typically earn?

 

[marine1]

Thanks for the info.

Any idea how much do these actors typically earn?

Some chick on highvbeld this morning said around 30-40k gross

 

[JustAsk]

Thanks for the info.

Any idea how much do these actors typically earn?

16K A WEEK.

The actors received an ultimatum from the SABC's legal department on Friday night to report for duty tomorrow at 9am or consider their contracts terminated with immediate effect.

The letters were issued to the main actors soon after the cast issued a statement that they had embarked on a strike because the SABC rejected their demands to be paid royalties and to finalise their three-year contracts.

The SABC rejected their demands for pay hikes, which it deemed "astronomical ", pushing up wages of long-serving actors from R16000 to R30000 a week.

Two independent sources, a senior executive and a crew member, said the SABC took a decision on Friday night to take a hardline stance because it found the actors' demands "unreasonable" and "out of touch with reality".

"That means these actors will earn a monthly salary of R120000, which is equal to R1.4-million a year per cast member. This is not Hollywood. These people want to be like Hollywood stars or soccer stars. Is that affordable and sustainable, given the financial status of the SABC? We were shocked by these demands," he said.

The soapie has 16 main actors, meaning the public broadcaster would have to fork our R22.4-million a year in salaries alone.

The executive said the cast also demanded payment for any advert written into their storylines or one they feature in during intervals.

"Generations is our property, not theirs. We invent new ways of generating revenue through Generations and pay them wages for their roles as actors. Now they want a percentage for adverts written into their storylines or flighted during intervals of the soapie. I think they have really gone too far.

"When they issued the statement, they shied away from including these ridiculous demands of theirs, because that was going to expose their greed to the public. They instead chose to portray the SABC as an institution that does not care about its people."

LINK

 

[Nerfherder]

Some chick on highvbeld this morning said around 30-40k gross

Per episode ?

 

[JustAsk]

I'm glad these ungrateful "actors" have been fired. They deserve it.

Some more info.

SAGA: Actors are freelance independent contractors

Actors working on soaps like the SABC's Generations, 7de Laan, Isidingo and others are freelance independent contractors, a SAGA spokesperson told Channel24 over the weekend.

"This is the correct legal status of the actor. At Generations there's a group who think they have the right to strike and the SABC can't dismiss them. But they're under a contract like when you hire an electrician to fix your geyser. You pay him and he leaves.

"Generations actors are not protected under these labour laws – it’s a contractual agreement to come and do a certain service on a specific day, or for three months. If there's a dispute, then you go for arbitration, and that's the way they should go.

"The wrong approach is that actors 'work' for the SABC or M-Net – the term employees. The correct approach is, and it stands clearly in the SABC's standard contract given to all soap actors, that the SABC pays the production company who in turn pays the actors who also receive this contract.

"In that contract is specifies clearly in clause 36.4 that the performer is contracted exclusively on a freelance basis for the purpose of fulfilling the specific function set out above. On termination of this agreement the performer shall have no right to claim employment by the producer in any capacity.

 

[The_Assimilator]

I'm quite sure these actors will be back on Generations soon. They just need to eat some humble pie first.

And if I were the SABC, I'd also balk at paying someone R 30k a week.

 

[Greylor]

I'm glad these ungrateful "actors" have been fired. They deserve it.

Some more info.

Basically the SABC are dishonest and the actors are stupid then.

The SABC are dishonest for agreeing to do certain things by a certain date just to get the actors back to work, but had no intention of honouring those agreements because they're not legally obliged to.
The actors are stupid for believing that the SABC are people who you take on their word in good faith.

The actors were just leveraging their value to the program and have lost.

Either suck it up and get back to work, or leave.

End of story.

 

[Sneeky]

16 ---> 30

Why not, Hlaudi practically doubled his salary for ****s and giggles to over R2m, and he doesn't even have a matric.

Important to note that the SABC finds no fault with that at all!

"The allegation that Mr Motsoeneng's salary progression was irregular is substantiated in that he received salary appraisals three times in one year as alleged, hiking his salary as executive manager [for] stakeholder relations from R1.5-million to R2.4-million."

"His salary progression as the acting COO concomitantly rose irregularly from R122 961 to R211 172 [a 63% increase] in 12 months and was in violation of the SABC personnel regulations and constitutes improper conduct and maladministration," she said.

http://mg.co.za/article/2014-02-17-sabcs-motsoeneng-unlawfully-hiked-salary-finds-madonsela

 

[TelkomUseless]

I'm quite sure these actors will be back on Generations soon. They just need to eat some humble pie first.

And if I were the SABC, I'd also balk at paying someone R 30k a week.

Even the R16k p week they get now is way too generous for learning a few lines and "acting" it out.

 

[AlphaBravo]

No difference between their their demands and the cosatu, amcu, numsa demands of recent. Are these actors unionised? I remember when the big fight happened in hollywood and actors first became unionised.

 

[themba990]

Even the R16k p week they get now is way too generous for learning a few lines and "acting" it out.

By what definition is it "too generous"? Do you even know how much ad revenue the show brings?

 

[Nerfherder]

Even the R16k p week they get now is way too generous for learning a few lines and "acting" it out.

And they can supplement that with other work...

This is a lot better then it used to be... I know the actress that played Leigh Heins on Isidingo died with very little money. She drove a sponsored car and had no medical aid.

40k a month should get you that.