Fritha Replied

Here is a Guild opinion on the matter. I hope it helps you to stay firmly on the side of health & safety, regardless of coercion.

Productions are legally required to allow crew members who are also truck drivers to take breaks as required by the new truck driving rules.

If these breaks do not fit within the crew breaks, or there are no breaks scheduled, then the crew member must stop work for the required rest period regardless.

If this causes an inconvenience to the production because there are not enough crew members, then this is the responsibility of the production and is effectively a health and safety cost – at the production’s expense.

Under no circumstances should any drivers enter incorrect details on their logbooks.

PM’s & HOD’s should understand that if they attempt to coerce drivers to not take breaks or enter false details in their logbooks, then they can be held legally accountable.

Yes, the 13-hour day does work in drama and features, as truck movements have primarily been shifted to the use of swing drivers. In most cases, the TVC sector hasn’t made the same move...