Leading U.K. exhibitor Cineworld reversed course after the program was announced, saying it would put its hourly wage employees, set to be dropped amid the shutdown, on the new short-term work plan. It's unclear if Cineworld will extend the measures to cover its many staff employed under Britain's controversial "zero hours" contracts, which do not guarantee an hourly or weekly wage.
Sky Italia was one of the quickest companies to respond to the pandemic, signing an agreement with trade unions to top up the salaries to 100 percent for employees sent home under short-term work arrangements. The pay TV group, controlled by Comcast, also added a "business continuity bonus" for employees unable to work from home.
"Just three weeks ago all the production companies were saying 'This doesn't apply to us,' but most now are coming around,” says Steffen Schmidt-Hug, a lawyer who represents the more than 300 members of the film crew working group known as Wir sind Babelsberg . He quotes German Culture Minister Monika Grütters, who said the government "won't leave anyone behind” when it comes to support for those hit by the coronavirus crisis.
Across the Atlantic, Canada has largely followed Europe’s lead. Instead of film tax credits or other delayed business deductions, it has rolled out targeted wage subsidies and cash drops. Its Job Retention Scheme will see the government pay 75 percent of an employee’s wages up to $600 per week. By keeping employees in jobs, Paul Bronfman, CEO of equipment supplier William F. White International, believes the local industry is primed to bounce back after the crisis.
Speaking to an online webcast meeting of the China Filmmakers Association in late March, called to discuss the industry's COVID-19 response, Yu Dong, chairman of Bona Film Group, a leading studio and cinema chain, urged the other leaders of private film companies to "take responsibility, not lay off staff, and not owe wages."
That’s sad for our movie industry if we can reopen soon we can recover this damage
That’s a big so what? All those countries subsidize movie making in normal times simply because their national film making industries are incapable of making films that turn a profit.
As these countries sink their and their neighbor economies and their retired population is put on starvation diet 🙄
Every business thinks it deserves a bailout... but there is only so much money. Trump is unwilling to raise taxes on the super rich and businesses so that leaves the middle class to foot the bill.
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