SCENE 01 / UNION TALENT MANAGEMENT
Union & Non-Union Talent Management
Expert management of union and non-union talent agreements and coordination.
The binding rules for engaging talent in Turkey come from statute. The Labour Law (İş Kanunu, No. 4857) sets the 11-hour daily ceiling, the 45-hour week and the 50% overtime premium. The actors' union, Oyuncular Sendikası, published set-working principles in force from 12 January 2026: union standards, not law, but the clearest written statement of what Turkish performers now expect on contracts, hours, auditions, insurance and the use of their likeness.
We use both. Our team drafts performer and crew agreements against the Labour Law, applies the union principles where a production wants a recognised standard, arranges social security registration with SGK, handles the separate permit each child performer needs, and gets release forms that satisfy the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK, No. 6698) for anyone identifiable on camera.
Capabilities
Comprehensive Union Talent Management Solutions
Expert union talent management ensuring compliance with labor regulations and union requirements with professional coordination.
01
Who's Who
- Oyuncular Sendikası: the actors' union
- SİNE-SEN and Sinema Emekçileri Sendikası: crew unions
- FİYAB: the Film Producers' Professional Association
- SESAM: collecting society for film authors, not a crew body
Know which body speaks for whom
02
Hours and Pay
- 11-hour daily ceiling, 45-hour week
- Overtime at 50%, capped at 270 hours a year
- Union principle: 7.5-hour daily contracts
- Extra day's wage for public-holiday work
- SGK registration on actual gross pay
Labour Law No. 4857
03
Casting and Likeness
- Audition notice 48 hours ahead, 72 for children
- Paid auditions in half-hour blocks
- Consent before any AI or digital replica
- Separate consent form and privacy notice
- Releases for identifiable people in commercial work
Union principles and KVKK
04
Child Performers
- Labour Law Article 71
- Written contract for every child under 14
- Separate permit for each job
- Work must not harm development or schooling
- Guardian and school coordination
Permit per child, per activity
Complete Union Management
Union Relations & Compliance
Comprehensive union coordination including SAG-AFTRA relations, DGA compliance, and WGA requirements management. Labor regulations adherence, union contract negotiation, and collective bargaining coordination with union representative liaison.
Contract Management & Documentation
Professional contract development including union agreements, talent contracts, and compliance documentation. Payroll coordination, pension contributions, and health benefit management with legal documentation and audit preparation.
Talent Advocacy & Support
Complete talent advocacy including rights protection, fair treatment coordination, and professional representation. Working conditions monitoring, safety compliance, and welfare coordination with career development support.
Union Management Performance
Why Us
Why Choose Fixers in Turkey for Union Talent Management
01.
Accurate on Who Represents Whom
Turkey's bodies are easy to confuse. Oyuncular Sendikası represents actors; SİNE-SEN and Sinema Emekçileri Sendikası speak for crew; FİYAB represents producers; SESAM collects for directors, screenwriters and composers. We deal with each on its own terms.
02.
Working Hours Taken Seriously
Crew unions have campaigned on hours since at least 2009, when about 500 crew marched for an 8-hour day. In 2026 the Sinema Emekçileri Sendikası still reported dizi days of 15 to 16 hours. We contract and schedule within the legal limits.
03.
Releases That Hold Up
KVKK's artistic exemption applies only where filming does not breach privacy or personal rights. For identifiable people in commercial or advertising work we still collect releases, with consent and privacy notice as separate documents, as the KVKK Board required in 2026.
04.
Insured on Real Pay
The actors' union says performers are often not treated as employees or insured under SGK's 4/A scheme. We register cast and crew on the pay they actually receive, which is what an auditor will check.
Our Union Management Process
Engagement Plan
We list every performer and crew role, mark who is Turkish, foreign or a minor, and set out the contract, registration and permit each one needs.
Contracts and Casting
We draft agreements with defined hours, overtime and likeness terms, send audition calls with the notice the union principles ask for, and set out how auditions are paid.
Registration and Permits
We register people with SGK on agreed pay, apply for child-performer permits, and check foreign cast against work-permit rules administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (ÇSGB).
Releases and Records
We collect consent forms kept separate from privacy notices, track hours on set, and hand over a file your legal and payroll teams can rely on.
On Location
Turkish performers and crew are organised, vocal and increasingly specific about conditions, but the binding rules still come from statute, so a production needs to know both.
Oyuncular Sendikası turned 15 in 2026 and used the anniversary to say that uninsured work, vague contracts, long hours and job insecurity remain the sector's core problems. Its set-working principles answer each of those: daily contracts of 7.5 hours with overtime beyond that, work past 11 hours called unlawful, at least 12 hours' rest between shooting days, travel time counted as work, social security declared on actual gross pay under SGK's 4/A employee scheme, audition calls 48 hours ahead (72 for children) paid at no less than the hourly minimum wage, and no use of an actor's face, voice or image for AI or digital replicas without consent. On the crew side, SİNE-SEN and Sinema Emekçileri Sendikası have campaigned on hours for years: in 2009 about 500 crew marched under the banner 'We want an 8-hour working day', and in 2026 the Sinema Emekçileri Sendikası still reported dizi days of 15 to 16 hours. A 2020 guidebook from actors' unions and the Turkish Medical Association said no one on a set should work uninsured.
The talent business is also under scrutiny. In January 2025 Turkey's Competition Authority opened an investigation into 21 talent-management companies, so we keep agency negotiations documented and terms explicit. For foreign productions the practical framework is short: hire within the Labour Law's hours, register everyone on real pay, apply for a separate permit for every child under 14, and collect KVKK-compliant releases where people are identifiable, with consent and privacy notice as separate documents. Where cast come from abroad, the one-month exemption for artistic activity under the International Labour Force rules may or may not apply, so we confirm it before anyone boards a plane. We handle each step so your cast is engaged on terms that Turkish performers, auditors and regulators would all recognise.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Turkish equivalent of SAG-AFTRA or Equity?
Oyuncular Sendikası is the actors' union. Its set-working principles, in force from 12 January 2026 and drafted at a workshop attended by ILO representatives, are union standards rather than law. Binding rules come from the Labour Law, the social security system and, for children, Article 71.
Do we need releases from people filmed in public?
Article 28(1)(c) of the KVKK exempts personal data processed for art, history, literature or science, or within freedom of expression, provided it does not breach national security, public order, privacy or personal rights, or constitute a crime. That condition is why we still take releases from identifiable people, especially in commercials. Since a 2026 KVKK Board decision, explicit-consent text must be kept separate from the privacy notice.
What are the rules for child actors?
Article 71 of the Labour Law, as amended in 2015, generally bans work by children under 15. Children under 14 may work in art, culture and advertising only if it does not harm their development or schooling, with a written contract and a separate permit for each activity. The actors' union also asks for 72 hours' notice of a child audition.
Can foreign cast work in Turkey without a work permit?
Work permits fall under the International Labour Force Law (No. 6735) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Its implementing regulation exempts foreigners working in scientific, cultural and artistic activities for up to one month; longer engagements need a full work permit. The regulation does not say whether a commercial shoot counts as artistic activity, so we check each case with the Ministry before cast travel.
Related Services
Productions in Turkey that need this often pair it with Talent Releases, Casting Services, and Licensing & Rights Management for full coverage. Most projects also draw on Talent Coordinator and Pre-Production Services.
On Set
Ready to Ensure Perfect Union Compliance?
Professional union talent management ensuring complete compliance and talent advocacy.