The government of Saskatchewan has taken the first step to help artists raise their incomes with the introduction of new legislation that requires all contracts to be in writing and encourages collective bargaining.

"Artists don’t have good wages, Employment Insurance (EI), workers compensation, or holiday pay," said Skip Kutz, President of the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance. "They have no power in society, so its not rocket science to figure out that these people have been marginalized over the years."

With this legislation that could soon change.

The legislation allows artists to initiate negotiations with engagers (art galleries, art dealers, and theatres). Until now, artists had low wages and no say over when or if negotiations would take place. This process will be regulated by the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board.

"The legislative proposal is likely to provide support for artists' associations already engaged in collective bargaining of scale agreements," said Dawn Martin, Executive Director for Culture and Heritage in Saskatchewan.

It is hoped that the legislation tabled in response to recommendations made by the Minister’s Advisory Committee on the ‘Status of the Artist’ (MACSA) will be a first step for more discussions to happen with various levels of government.

"New legislation is only one element of government’s broader response to recommendations made by MACSA," Culture, Youth and Recreation Minister Glenn Hagel said.

The recommendations tabled by MACSA included:

• the recognition of artists as a vital part of Saskatchewan,
  
• the requirement of artists to engage in mandatory contracts,
  
• the framework that allows artists to initiate collective negotiating with engagers,
  
• finally the repeal of the original Status of the Artist Act.

"This is just a part of the puzzle, The Status of the Artist, it is very good and it is forward looking, bur it only levels the playing field, bringing independent contractors as artists up to the same level as other employees," said Kutz.

Artists are taking a wait and see approach to the new legislation. They do not expect changes to happen overnight, but as Minister Hagel has said, it is a multi-year process.

"Will the sky fall down [as a result of the legislation], no, will things change over night, not likely," said Kutz. "What might change is we can sit down and negotiate a fair deal with large private sector employers. The same way that postal workers, city works, or a number of groups in the public, private and co-op sectors do, we would at least have the opportunity to pick and choose which organization we wish to work with."

Saskatchewan is only the second province in Canada to allow self-employed artists to seek collective bargaining, Quebec being the first.

"It's unclear what this will mean for artists as there are few examples of similar legislation around the world to draw from. Likely the early result will be more timely renewal of scale agreements that have expired," said Martin. "However, research evidence in the trade union sector suggests that collective agreements do make a difference to the income of employees. Over the longer term, it is hoped that artists will be able to use collective negotiations to improve their earning potential."

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