Belfast City Council has donated £10,000 to Equity Northern Ireland’s Safe Home campaign for performers and stage management working at night or in vulnerable locations.
Launched in 2023 at the union’s first EquityFest, Safe Home seeks to ensure hirers and employers “secure the health, safety and welfare of employees and other people at their workplace” as laid out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The campaign seeks to encourage venue owners and managers to agree to several “principles” regarding the travel arrangements and costs and post-show safety of workers employed by them.
The £10,000 pledge from Belfast City Council will be used to create an online video resource, Safe Home posters for Belfast venues outlining their commitment to the principles and a web site listing of those who have signed up across the city. It will also include additional advice for venues.
Announcing the award, Belfast’s Lord Mayor, Alliance councillor Micky Murray, said, “we want to do all that we can to make a night out in the city as safe as possible, for both patrons and performers. This investment will provide practical training and resources to support local venues and enable them to play their part in keeping artists and production staff safe as they go about their work”.
Equity Northern Ireland’s Alice Adams Lemon said, “our members are often forgotten when venues are thinking about the security of the workforce. Individual artists can be left to fend for themselves once the venue doors have closed for the evening”.
She added, “we are delighted with this commitment from Belfast City Council and the support of the Lord Mayor in ensuring venue owners and managers are reminded of how important a role they play in making sure their valued artists are safe”.