The only way we get fair pay, stability and dignity is together
What I didn’t realise then was just how much the union actually does. The pay agreements. The rights. The protections around AI. Making sure workplaces are safe. All the stuff you don’t really think about… until you suddenly need it.
And I needed it much sooner than I expected.
Early in my career, I experienced sexual harassment on set. In that moment, the union stopped being an abstract idea or a name on a website.
It was real people who stood beside me, made sure I wasn’t facing that situation alone, and helped me navigate something that felt overwhelming. That was the turning point. I knew I wanted to get involved – not just for myself, but to make sure other performers had the same protection I did.
Since then being active in Equity has meant pushing for change in parts of the industry that desperately need it.
One thing I’m especially proud of is the low-budget film agreement. That area of work can feel like the wild west. Long hours, poor health and safety and pressure to do intimate scenes without proper support.
I saw how vulnerable people were – especially those desperate for their first break – and I raised it with the union.
Working alongside other members and Equity we created an agreement that actually protects performers on small film productions.
It’s now used across the industry. And crucially even if a film gets no distribution performer pay now starts at £664 a week. That’s more than £200 a week above minimum wage. That difference isn’t abstract – it’s rent, food, heating. It’s the difference between staying in the industry or being forced out of it.
I’ve also served as Chair of the branch representing many West End theatre workers. In 2023 after negotiations spanning four months and a huge campaigning effort from members in their workplaces as part of the Stand Up for 17 campaign, we won a 22.19% pay rise.
That’s huge. For many people, it means hundreds more in their pocket per month. Life-changing money. And it didn’t happen because one person asked nicely. It happened because hundreds of workers stood together and refused to accept less than the value of their work. That’s collective power in action.
So when people ask why we’re doing a tour of famous cultural institutions to mark Heart Unions Week - the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the English, the Peacock Theatre and the Southbank Centre – the answer is simple.
We want to shine a light on the workers inside those buildings. The artists, technicians, front-of-house staff and creatives who make London’s cultural life possible every single day.
We’re asking them to step outside for a moment. To be seen. To be celebrated. And to show the public just how essential unions are to keeping this sector fair, safe and sustainable.
If I could say one thing to anyone wondering whether to join a union it would be this. Your boss is never going to wake up one morning and decide to give you the pay and respect you deserve. You have to fight for it – and you can’t do that alone.
With AI threatening jobs across the creative industries collective action isn’t a “nice to have”. It’s survival.
Every cultural worker deserves fair pay, stability, dignity and a future. And the only way we get there is together.
