Workers at the Fantasia International Film Festival are set to strike today, demanding the festival address issues raised during ongoing contract negotiations.
The dispute centres around the festival’s offer of minimum wage to its approximately 60 employees and the insistence on maintaining their freelance status, despite unionization in September 2023, according to a press release issued by the CSN union.
“Fantasia wants to keep our freelance status for this year’s festival, even though we’ve been unionized since September 2023. The employer’s lack of preparation for nearly a year is extremely disappointing,” said Justine Smith, a member of the negotiating committee of the Syndicat des employé-es de l’événementiel–CSN, Festival Fantasia section.
Workers will picket in front of the festival’s offices at 1455 De Maisonneuve West in Montreal on July 11.
The union, part of the Syndicat des employé-es de l’événementiel-CSN, includes other festival unions such as Fondation Québec Cinéma and the Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC), both of which have already secured their first collective agreements.
Union representatives are pushing for a swift resolution to improve working conditions and avoid further disruptions during the festival, which begins on July 18. The union members had previously voted unanimously to authorize up to five strike days if negotiations stalled, it said.
Annick Charette, President of the FNCC-CSN, highlighted a broader trend in the cultural sector where workers are seeking unionization for better recognition and fair pay.
“Like many workers in the cultural world, event industry employees want to join a union because they are demanding better working conditions, namely, to be recognized as workers in their own right, and to be paid for all hours worked, just like everyone else who has to pay rent and buy groceries,” she said.
François Enault, 1st vice-president of the CSN, emphasized the precarious and sometimes illegal working conditions faced by cultural sector workers.
“The minimum wage is already woefully inadequate. We’re fighting to raise it significantly. It’s inconceivable that some people don’t even get $15.75 an hour,” Enault added.
The Fantasia International Film Festival, founded in 1996, is celebrating its 27th edition this year. The festival has an estimated annual audience of over 100,000 and is known for showcasing independent films in genres such as science fiction, fantasy, comedy, and action.
The FNCC-CSN represents 6,000 members across 80 unions in communications, journalism, and culture. The CSN, Quebec’s oldest major labour body founded in 1921, represents over 330,000 workers from various sectors.