AQTIS and IATSE compliance: what every Canadian production manager needs to know

Union compliance is one of the most operationally demanding aspects of Canadian film production. AQTIS (Alliance québécoise des techniciens et techniciennes de l'image et du son, Local 514 IATSE) and IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) collective agreements govern working conditions for crew members across the country, and the rules are specific, enforceable, and expensive to violate.

This post covers the core compliance requirements that Canadian production managers need to understand and track: turnaround periods, overtime rules, meal penalties, rest periods, and the practical challenges of staying compliant across multiple simultaneous productions.

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What AQTIS and IATSE agreements cover

AQTIS Local 514 IATSE represents technicians working in film, television, and new media production in Quebec. IATSE locals across Canada (including Local 873 in Ontario, Local 891 in British Columbia, Local 212 in Alberta, and others) represent crew in their respective jurisdictions.

Each local negotiates its own collective agreement with producer associations, which means the specific rules vary by province, by department, and by production type (feature film, television series, commercial, documentary). Production managers need to know which agreements apply to their specific production and crew.

The agreements typically cover: minimum crew call times, daily and weekly overtime thresholds, turnaround (rest) periods between shifts, meal break timing and penalties, weekly rest periods, holiday provisions, and travel time rules.

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Turnaround periods

Turnaround is the minimum rest period required between the end of one work day and the start of the next. This is one of the most frequently violated provisions in production, and one of the most consequential.

Standard turnaround. Most AQTIS and IATSE agreements require a minimum of 10 hours of continuous rest between shifts. Some locals and some production types require longer turnaround for specific circumstances.

Turnaround violations. When a crew member does not receive the required turnaround, the consequences vary by agreement but typically include penalty pay at elevated rates (often double or triple time) from the start of the next shift until the full turnaround period has elapsed. In some agreements, turnaround violations trigger an automatic forced call, meaning the crew member's next start time is pushed back regardless of the call sheet.

The scheduling challenge. Turnaround violations usually happen because the previous day ran long. A shoot that was scheduled to wrap at 7:00 PM but actually wrapped at 10:00 PM means every crew member who started at 7:00 AM worked 15 hours and now needs turnaround that pushes their next call past the planned start time. If the production does not adjust the next day's call sheet, it is in violation from the moment crew arrives.

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Overtime rules

Overtime provisions are among the most detailed sections of any collective agreement, and they vary significantly between locals and production types.

Daily overtime. Most agreements establish a standard work day (commonly 8 or 10 hours depending on the agreement) after which overtime rates apply. The first tier of overtime is typically 1.5 times the base hourly rate. After a second threshold (often the 12th hour), the rate increases to double time or higher.

Weekly overtime. Some agreements also track cumulative weekly hours. Even if no single day triggers daily overtime, exceeding the weekly threshold (commonly 44 or 48 hours) triggers overtime rates for the excess.

Sixth and seventh day premiums. Working six consecutive days typically triggers premium rates on the sixth day. A seventh consecutive day of work triggers even higher premiums, often double time for the entire day.

The tracking challenge. Overtime calculations require accurate time tracking for every crew member, applied against the correct rate tables from the applicable collective agreement. When a production company runs multiple overlapping shoots sharing the same crew pool, a gaffer who works three days on Production A and three days on Production B may have worked six consecutive days even though neither production scheduled them for more than three.

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Meal penalties

Meal break provisions exist in every AQTIS and IATSE agreement, and the penalties for violations are immediate and cumulative.

The six-hour rule. Most agreements require that the first meal break occur within six hours of the crew call. If lunch is not called by the six-hour mark, the production incurs a meal penalty for every affected crew member.

Penalty structure. Meal penalties are typically calculated per half hour of delay, with the penalty amount increasing for each subsequent half hour. A meal that is 45 minutes late incurs two penalty increments. These penalties apply to every crew member individually.

Second meals. When the work day extends beyond a certain length (typically six hours after the first meal break ends), a second meal break is required with its own set of penalties for delays.

The cost. Meal penalties accumulate quickly. A single late lunch on a crew of 50 people can cost thousands of dollars in penalties within the first hour of delay. The financial incentive to break on time is significant, but productions frequently underestimate how quickly the six-hour window closes when setups run long.

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Weekly rest periods

Beyond daily turnaround, most collective agreements require a minimum weekly rest period, typically 34 consecutive hours (including the daily turnaround) between the last shift of one work week and the first shift of the next.

Violating the weekly rest period triggers penalty rates (often triple time) from the start of the next shift until the required rest period has been satisfied. For productions operating on tight schedules with weekend shoots, tracking weekly rest compliance is essential.

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Why manual tracking fails

The fundamental challenge with union compliance is that the rules interact. A crew member's overtime rate depends on their daily hours, their weekly hours, their consecutive days worked, and which collective agreement applies to their role. Their turnaround depends on when they actually wrapped (not when they were scheduled to wrap). Their meal penalty depends on the actual time of their call, not just the general crew call.

When these calculations are done manually, using spreadsheets and time cards, errors compound. A missed turnaround violation on Monday affects the overtime calculation on Tuesday. A sixth-day premium that was not flagged in advance leads to a budget overrun. A meal penalty that was not tracked becomes a grievance.

Production companies running multiple shoots simultaneously face an even harder version of this problem. Compliance is not per-production; it is per-person. The system needs to track each crew member's hours, turnaround, and consecutive days across every production they work on.

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How software changes the equation

Production management software that understands union collective agreements can shift compliance from reactive to proactive. For a comparison of available platforms, see our 2026 software guide.

Pre-schedule validation. Before a call sheet is finalized, the system checks every crew member's scheduled start time against their actual wrap time from the previous day, their consecutive days worked, and the applicable turnaround requirement. Violations are flagged before the call sheet is distributed, not after the shoot day starts.

Real-time meal tracking. The system tracks the clock from crew call and alerts the AD team as the meal deadline approaches, not after it passes.

Cross-production visibility. When a crew member works across multiple productions, the system aggregates their hours and consecutive days to flag sixth-day premiums, weekly overtime, and turnaround violations that would be invisible to any single production's schedule. This is the same centralized scheduling approach that prevents double-bookings across overlapping shoots.

This is the approach Siasola Production Management takes: AQTIS and IATSE collective agreement rules built into the scheduling and call sheet system, so compliance is enforced at the point of decision rather than discovered during payroll or a grievance.

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Getting started

If your production company operates in Canada and manages union crew, the first step toward better compliance is understanding which collective agreements apply to your productions and where your current tracking gaps are.

Contact us through our contact form at siasola.com/contact to discuss your union compliance needs. We scope every engagement around the specific agreements and jurisdictions your productions operate under.

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This post is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Collective agreement provisions vary by local, by production type, and by negotiation cycle. Production companies should consult the applicable collective agreements directly and seek qualified legal counsel for compliance questions specific to their productions.