68% do not receive enough income to cover their basic needs

The Manager of Chileactors Foundation together with the Public Policies Center of the Finis Terrae University presented the “Socio Labor Study of Audiovisual Artists”, an unpublished investigation in Chile and Latin America on the reality of the audiovisual industry.

The work establishes some of the main labor challenges faced by the actors, actresses, comedians, dancers and doubles of Chile. The research was commented by the Sol Foundation, a specialist organization in labor issues in Chile.

“As University Finis Terrae we firmly believe that culture is not a luxury, but a fundamental pillar for the human and social development of the country, so from the public policy center of our house of studies, one of our roles is to contribute with evidence that it is useful and relevant to the decision making that especially affect the workers of the culture and the scenic arts of the country,” says Felipe Arteaga, director (s) of the public policy center of the U. Terrae

The president of Chileactors, Esperanza Silva, stressed that: “It is easy to get carried away by the image that sells the fantasy of the red carpet, we participate in them because we need to promote our works, but the glamor of these events is a tragic fiction: artists live a social and labor reality even worse than that of most Chileans. Half of our artists receives less than $ 400 thousand pesos as a liquid income of their artistic occupation. Less than the minimum salary. ”

Figures

The study, which surveyed 1,033 members and members of Chileactors, showed some “impressive” figures, such as 68% of the artists surveyed indicated that their perceived income is insufficient for their basic needs, according to the data raised by the U. Finis Terrae. Meanwhile, 58.2% declared that they must have a secondary activity to complement their income as an artist.

Working conditions are also worrisome. While only 4% have an indefinite contract, 74% work to fees and 11% are in informality. This has repercussions on social security, since 31% cannot quote on AFP and 18% do so occasionally.

Ismael Tabilo, a researcher at the Public Policies Center of the U. Finis Terrae, stressed that the results of the study give lights that “uncertainty and low wages are characteristic in the audiovisual world, this given that multi -employment, together with the low average income, where the majority earns less than $ 400,000, and the low access to social security are aspects that allow an aspects that allow the acting world to be study”.

Long days

The situation is even more complex for those who have a contract, since arts and show workers can be hired under conditions of long days. As Esperanza Silva explains, “Law 19,889, instead of protecting us, enabled us to have shooting days of up to 10 hours a day, six days a week. That is, while Chile walks around 40 hours a week, the very few artists who work with a contract are 60 hours a week.”

That is the reality of those who have employment, but the vast majority is in a situation of permanent instability. According to the analysis of the Sol Foundation, “in the case of Chileactors, a significantly lower amount of the population is worked.

While the first group works on average 7.5 days a month, in the second it reaches 21 days. The median, meanwhile, shows that 50% of respondents work 4 days a month or less, lower value even to the national weekly weekly. ”

Paradox

The situation is paradoxical, says the president of Chileactors.

“Internationally, the industry is growing and will continue to grow. We hope that this growth does not mean precarious workers.” Along these lines, the leader also referred to the public litigation that artists have with the Amazon content platform.

“Currently Chileactors maintain a litigation with Amazon Prime Video, who refuse to recognize and pay the rights of creators in Chile, even when they charge subscriptions and promote content made in our country. We are giving this fight with the absolute conviction that international investment cannot be synonymous with precarization of national workers,” said Esperanza Silva.