As a performer when thinking of ethics my first thought is the ethical treatment of a performer by whoever their employer may be.
On receiving a new contract from either an agency or performance company my first thought after looking through the document is equity. Equity is a trade union for performers that ensures that performers are treated in an ethical way and paid an agreed amount for their work.
Every contract I have been sent since graduating from drama school whether is be from an agent, modelling agency or a possible employer I have sent to equity for advice on whether it is within their regulations, needs to be negotiated or even discarded all together.
Equity is always my first calling point when considering taking on work or an opportunity as it is there to help support those working within the arts, much like other trade unions from other professions do.
On their sight they give an overview of what it is they do as well as it nut shelled in a set of bullet points:
- Negotiates
- Organises
- Campaigns and lobbies
- Supports
- Protects
- Influences
- Provides Services
- Listens
- Advises
- Takes action
- Is a community
Equity is not swayed by any particular political party and is solely there to protect its members.
After looking through equity’s codes of conduct I realised that although they are my first point of support and I have used their services in the past I was not fully aware of all my rights as a performer. Knowledge of this is essential as of course if I do not fully know what the regulations are on how I as a performer should be treated how would I know if I am being treated in an ethical way according to the rules that are there to protect me?
This is something that is not only essential when discussing ethics in my personal profession but also essential in life. If we expect to be treated in an ethical way we must first have knowledge of what this means both in our personal and professional lives; and of course knowledge is power!
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