| Founded | 1930 |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Affiliation | TUC, ICTU, STUC |
| Key people | Malcolm Sinclair (President) Christine Payne (General Secretary) |
| Office location | London, United Kingdom |
| Website | www.equity.org.uk |
Equity (formerly known as the British Actors' Equity Association) is the trade union for actors, stage managers and models in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1930 by a group of West End performers.
Equity was the last of the closed shop unions in the UK. This was criticised in 1981[1] and made illegal in 1988 - it is now no longer a requirement that a professional actor be a member of Equity.[2][3][4]
Equity requires its members to have unique professional names.[5]
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Like many other British trade unions, Equity operated a closed shop policy - it was not possible for someone to join unless they had had sufficient paid work, and most jobs were reserved for Equity card holders. In order to allow new members to join, there were a limited number of non-card holding jobs on regional productions. Whilst working on these productions, actors held a provisional membership card, and, on completing the requisite number of weeks, could apply for full membership, and therefore work in the West End, or on film and television.
In 1976, Equity introduced a policy of refusing to sell programming to the South African Broadcasting Corporation, an action that led to a virtual blackout of British television in apartheid South Africa.
As a result of the Conservative reforms of trade unions in the 1980s, and the introduction of European legislation, closed shop unions became illegal in the UK, and Equity discontinued this policy. However, in order to join, evidence must be provided of sufficient paid professional work.[6]
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