Screenwriters Association asks members to stop work on US projects during Hollywood writers’ strike

Screenwriters Association (SWA) from India is showing solidarity with the Writers Guild of America who are on strike for fair pay and profits from the Hollywood studios. The association has asked members to stop work on any US projects like films and web series in support of the US writers. The Indian writers guild sent out an official mail stating their support for their ‘11,500 sisters and brothers of WGA’. (Also read: Oscar academy releases new social media campaign rules after recent controversies)

The SWA has more than 57,000 members in the guild. On Thursday, they sent out an email requesting their members to support the WGA and listed out their reasons for going on strike. An email signed by SWA General Secretary Zaman Habib stated, “We ask all SWA members working on U.S. shows and films to strengthen their protest by stopping work on those, and to not accept any new writing work from the companies in the US affiliated to AMPTP [Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers].”

The email also added, “If the WGA strike succeeds, it helps our efforts, by setting a precedent. After all, we shall be negotiating with the Indian subsidiaries of some of those companies. The challenges faced by Indian writers are even more acute. Grossly unfair contracts, no credit guarantee, undignified low fees (especially for new writers), one-sided termination clauses, impossible indemnity demands, no buy-back clause among others.”

The Hollywood writers are also asking for better job protections and more profits from streaming deals with studios. Many US late-night talk shows have already shut down and Saturday Night Live with guest host Pete Davidson this week has been axed.

According to a report on Deadline, screenwriter Anjum Rajabali, who is a SWA Executive Committee member, stated that members are not stopping work on the Indian shows produced by Netflix, Disney and Amazon. He also shared that the SWA is currently in the process of drafting a Minimum Basic Contract for members and initiating negotiations with producers on standard clauses. But since India does not have one single producers’ entity like the AMPTP, the association has to have talks with major producers one by one.

More international guilds including the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) and Australia Writers Guild (AWG) have also extended their support to the striking WGA members and asked their members not to write for any US shows.