At its meeting on 17 March 2014 in Brussels, the committee adopted a motion of support for the unemployment insurance scheme for performing artists and technicians in France, thereby answering French employer organisations (MEDEF and CGPME) which have indicated that they wish to bring an end to this scheme. Such questioning would have serious consequences on the performing arts and audiovisual sectors and all those who work in them.
Motion of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee of the Live Performance sector:
In France, performing artists and technicians in their capacity as employees, enjoy an unemployment insurance scheme like workers in other fields. This system has been adapted to take into account specificities of their employment conditions, notably characterized by short-term contracts and the temporary nature of certain jobs. Thanks to this scheme, some 100,000 professionals are able to earn their living through the practice of their craft.
In the framework of the renegotiation of the general unemployment agreement, European social partners in the live performance sector (Performing Arts Employers Associations League Europe – PEARLE* and the European Arts and Entertainment Alliance – EAEA, made up of the international trade union federations FIA, FIM and UNI MEI) support French professional organizations, which have long offered a proposal to reform the system that is both fairer and more efficient. They call on French national social partners, as well as public authorities, to examine this project seriously and rapidly, and to integrate it into the new scheme. This would meet the needs of both workers and employers in our sector, which is a major producer of cultural wealth and economic benefits.