Working conditions Work permit and “professional” status for artists
Argentina has no work permit, “professional” status for artists or “law governing artists”. Actors and musicians are protected by trade unions, which (whether or not they belong to a trade union since membership is not compulsory) negotiate for them the conditions in the collective work agreements and the conditions established by managing societies for artists and musicians.

Health care protection
Health care protection is provided under the Social Benefits Law and covers all workers in subordinate relations. Such protection does not apply automatically to artists inasmuch as they are not recognized as being in subordinate relationships. Protection is available only to unionised artists expressly requesting membership in the social benefits fund of their trade union or of another union.

Private health care protection
The social benefits funds of the trade unions for actors and musicians are subject to the general law governing all trade unions. However, the fact that the subordinate relationship between artist and producer is not recognized gives rise to an enormous contradiction. The social benefits funds run by the trade unions function like a special system within the overall system: those funds are sustained mainly by the contributions of their member artists who work; those contributions are very small in comparison with that contributed by producers affiliated with the ATA or CAPIT television networks or members of the Association of Theatre Producers for actors under contract to commercial theatres and advertising agencies, in addition to the reimbursements and contributions of the State to social benefits funds. With regard to private health care, known as “prepaid” care, only very well-paid artists, who are in the minority, can afford to purchase such protection. Playwrights, members of ARGENTORES, and composers, members of SADAIC, their respective managing societies, have health systems which function nearly like private systems because, being profit-making, they are much richer than the trade unions.

Disabled artists
There is no special regime for disabled artists.

Administrative inspection of working conditions
In this area, the collective work agreements are well ahead of state regulations in determining the conditions with regard to working hours, health and safety under which artistic work is carried out. Nevertheless, in the absence of special regulations, the general regulations applicable to any kind of subordinate labour apply, insofar as they are compatible with the conditions under which the artistic activity is carried out. Artists working within a subordinate relationship are automatically included in Law n°24.557 (work hazards) and producers and artistic workers are accordingly subject to the rights and obligations established under that Law (Article 2(b)), including those working for national, provincial or municipal theatres or television stations (Article 2(a)).

Aspects covered by the inspection
Inspections cover, in particular, compliance with the municipal provisions governing the authorization and operations of the premises where public events are held and any failure to comply with tax obligations on the part of the owners or contracting producers. They do not, however, cover compliance in respect of protection of artists even though, on many occasions, complaints about artists’ working conditions have been made to the Ministry of Labour. This has had very little impact, owing to staff shortages in some cases and to a lack of political will in others.

Remuneration

Minimum level of payment
Collective agreements for musicians and actors establish minimum pay levels, which vary according to the speciality and the field (radio, cinema, theatre, advertising, dubbing). In the case of actors, a regulation exists with regard to work in theatre cooperatives, which must be registered with the Actors’ Association and must comply with the requirements ensuring equity for all its members and between them and the theatre they rent or with which they share a percentage of the receipts.

Payment system
All actors, whether stars or beginners, have been paid through the trade union headquarters since 1960, when a general assembly of members took a decision to that effect, which was subsequently approved by the competent authorities. The legal status of the trade union, granted in 1919, is valid throughout Argentina. For musicians, the arrangements vary, but there is no obligation to deposit with trade union headquarters. The Sindicato de Artistas de Variedades ceased to exist in the 1990s and its members joined the Asociación Argentina de Actores or the Sindicato Argentino de Músicos (SADEM). In respect of intellectual property rights, the management societies ARGENTORES, SADAIC and AADICAPIF are responsible for collection and payment for theatre, cinema, radio and television authors, for composers and actors and musicians, in the case of AADICAPIF.

Unemployment
There is no unemployment insurance. Recently, some artists have been able, under the government plan concerning heads of household, to work (for small amounts of remuneration as a palliative to unemployment) in hospitals, poor neighbourhoods, as mural painters, restorers and so forth.

Source: Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación, October 2003.

Standard-Setting Instruments (in Spanish):

• Framework agreement to improve the work of actors in television in Argentina (24 May 2001)
  
• Ley n°24269 por la que se aprueba la Recomendación relativa a la condición de artista aprobada por la Conferencia General de la UNESCO (Boletín Oficial, 1993-12-15, n°27786, págs. 1-4)
  
• Ley n°14597 sobre el estatuto del ejecutante musical (Código del Trabajo (Incluye disquetes de instalación del Programa LASSI "Código del Trabajo" v.2.1.), 1996, Depalma, Buenos Aires, Argentina, pág. 705-709)