Enforcers are the lifeblood of the PAX conventions. Without them, the entire operation simply could not succeed.
In many parts of the world, particularly the USA, Enforcers are paid for their time. Unfortunately here in Australia, Enforcers have been traditionally engaged as unpaid volunteers since the first PAX in 2013.
Ahead of MIGW 2019, Game Workers Unite Australia has spoken to a number of Enforcers who have expressed their concerns about the unpaid volunteer arrangement. Most of these Enforcers have performed 15-20, or even as many as 40 hours in one case, of unpaid work for PAX.
Based on minimum wage estimates, Game Workers Unite Australia believes that this practice of unpaid volunteer work would have saved PAX Australia operators Reed Pop hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in wages.
Today, GWU Australia would like to acknowledge a recent decision last week by Reed Pop to – for the first time – engage their Enforcers as casual employees and pay them for their work.
This is a great step forward to combating the level of underpayment and exploitation that is rife within the video game sector. We look forward to Reed Pop extending this arrangement to all other conventions it operates in Australia.
GWU Australia understands that the PAX Enforcers in 2019 will be engaged under the terms of the Amusements, Events and Recreations Award, which is the minimum set of legal wages and conditions applicable to this kind of work.
GWU Australia also acknowledges that Reed Pop has chosen to use an industry superannuation fund, Media Super, as their default fund. Industry super funds are run by members, for members, and not for profit like retail super funds.
Any Enforcers who have concerns about their wages and conditions during their work at PAX Australia 2019 are encouraged to contact us for a private and confidential discussion.
GWU Australia will be active throughout Melbourne International Games Week 2019, promoting the growing movement of unionised game workers who want to stand together to build a better industry.