PWAC urges freelancers to shun deal with London Free Press

In what may be a significant marker along the road to asserting freelancer's rights, the Professional Writers Association of Canada and the fledgling Canadian Freelancer's Union are urging freelancers in London, Ont. not to sign contracts with Sun Media/Quebecor's London Free Press.

The new contracts, with a deadline of December 11, apparently make any further work with the paper contingent on signing away all residual and secondary rights to material sold to the paper, without additional payment.

“We feel this contract, and the manner in which it was presented, compromises the basic rights of Canadian writers under the Copyright Act, and is just bad-faith business negotiation,” says PWAC President, and London freelancer Suzanne Boles in a release. “The contract we’ve seen demands irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide rights to a freelancer’s work, with no extra remuneration for these extra uses.”

PWAC is recommending that local writers do not sign this new contract. “It makes terrible business sense for writers to work under these conditions,” says PWAC Executive Director, John Degen. “The agreement makes a show of granting writers continued ownership of the copyright for their work, and then systematically strips away every one of those rights, including moral rights, while offering nothing more in compensation. It is against the very spirit of copyright and cultural production in this country.“

UPDATE The Canadian Freelancers Union has issued a statement that says:

"Quebecor is one of Canada's largest media giants. It has revenue of over $6.3 billion worldwide, yet it wants to squeeze even more from some of Canada's lowest paid workers," says (CFU President Michael] OReilly. "This is the most one-sided contract I have seen. It takes everything and leaves the writers with nothing but the legal liability should someone decide to sue. We are advising freelancers not to sign.