EuroFIA’s Dutch member FNV-KIEM kindly hosted the meeting in Amsterdam. FNV-KIEM opened the meeting by noting that at a time when the cultural sector in the Netherlands, and indeed in most countries in Europe, is facing severe budgetary cuts; international meetings of performers’ unions to exchange ideas and strategies on how to work in such a challenging climate are more important than ever.
Following a strong request from the member unions of EuroFIA at our previous meeting in Brussels, the first half a day of the meeting focused indepth on the main day-to-day needs of EuroFIA unions and how best to approach them; how FIA can be supportive; and how members can best support each other. It was structured in a series of panels, with speakers on each theme and time for general discussion. The themes were: Cuts to Arts/Culture Funding: the challenge of campaigning successfully against them; Recruiting and retaining members: the challenge of growing as a union; Establishing a Social Dialogue; Diversifying services and employment opportunities for members; Staying abreast of new media developments and making the most of them in collective bargaining.
The rest of the meeting dealt with recent EU developments; WIPO; and issues including piracy; competition rules and their impact on self-employed performers; and work in other FIA regional groups. Two motions were also adopted at the behest of members from Portugal and from Ireland. You can view them below.
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