SAG accepts deal with Hollywood studios

The Screen Actors Guild has accepted a two-year TV and theatrical contract deal with the major Hollywood studios.

In a ballot of its 110,000 members, the deal was ratified by a vote of 78% to 22% on a turnout of 35.3%.

Interim national executive director David White said: "This decisive vote gets our members back to work with immediate pay raises and puts SAG in a strong position for the future. Preparation for the next round of negotiations begins now."

A statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers read: "The ratification vote by SAG members is good news for the entertainment industry."

The terms of the deal include a 3% pay increase in the first year and 3.5% in the second, as well as a 0.5% rise in pension and health plan contributions.

It also established jurisdiction and compensation for new-media work, though it was claimed that the new contract still does not provide adequate actor pay for films and programmes that appear online.

SAG president Alan Rosenberg said: "The membership has spoken and has decided to work under the terms of this contract that many of us, who have been involved in these negotiations from the beginning, believe to be devastatingly unsatisfactory.

"I call upon all SAG members to begin to ready themselves for the battle ahead."