Quebec audiovisual technicians ratify first AQTIS agreement with Netflix

AQTIS 514 IATSE represents thousands of freelance audiovisual workers in Quebec, including technicians working in camera, sound, lighting, costume and other production departments. The union has ratified its first four-year term agreement with Netflix.

Photo: AQTIS 514 IATSE

---

Quebec audiovisual technicians represented by AQTIS 514 IATSE have ratified the union’s first term agreement with Netflix, creating a four-year framework for productions the streaming company shoots in the province.

AQTIS announced the agreement Aug. 26 following several months of negotiations. Until now, the union said terms for Netflix productions in Quebec had to be negotiated separately for each project.

The new agreement establishes a standing negotiated framework for the crafts covered by the deal and will remain in place for four years.

“This first term agreement with Netflix represents an important milestone for our members,” AQTIS 514 president Bernard Larivière said in announcing the ratification.

The union said the agreement establishes working conditions across the affected crafts and is intended to provide technicians with a safer and more predictable working environment while creating greater stability for productions.

AQTIS represents approximately 8,000 freelance audiovisual professionals working in more than 200 occupations across 28 departments. Its members work throughout film and television production and post-production.

Those departments include camera, construction, costume, hair, lighting, makeup, sound and special effects, along with a wide range of other behind-the-scenes roles involved in bringing productions to the screen.

AQTIS’s Aug. 26 announcement did not disclose specific wage, overtime or benefit provisions in the agreement, and the union did not release the percentage of members who voted in favour.

Because many audiovisual technicians work as freelancers and move from one production to another, collective agreements can set important conditions around how individual productions are staffed and operated.

The agreement is specifically the first term agreement negotiated between Netflix and AQTIS 514 in Quebec. Netflix has entered into other union agreements elsewhere in Canada, including a 2024-27 agreement covering work represented by IATSE Local 212 in Alberta.

For AQTIS members, the four-year agreement means Netflix productions covered by the deal will now operate under an established negotiated framework instead of requiring the union and company to negotiate terms separately for each project.