SCOTTISH actors could set up a breakaway trade union over a bitter dispute over the reorganisation of Equity, it is claimed.

Anger over the proposed restructuring of the UK-wide performing arts union and loss of one long-serving official from its busy Glasgow office is so strong some members have suggested it’s time to establish an independent Scottish alternative.

Decision-makers at its London HQ have told “encyclopaedic” organiser Lorne Boswell he is to be cut as responsibility for Northern Irish operations as they move from Glasgow to the English capital.

Maureen Beattie, the union’s president, says she is “deeply distressed” at the compulsory redundancy move but the Glasgow office is “over-staffed”, having 5% of the union’s membership but using 15% of its resources at a time when it’s carrying a £600,000 deficit. But angry members have started a campaign against the changes, claiming the decision is against their wishes and ignores the complexity of the union’s work in Scotland a time of great uncertainty for the performing arts.

More than 20 members of the cast of one of the country’s biggest TV series, River City – a workplace with 97% trade union membership – have threatened to quit over the move. Shieldinch stars including Iain Robertson, Barbara Rafferty, Sanjeev Kohli and Stephen Purdon have added their names to the statement, which says the decision “suppresses members’ democracy”.

It states that Boswell is “needed now more than ever” as the “tough times” of the pandemic continue, adding: “We have 97% membership coverage on our programme and that is in danger of being reduced to zero in light of this decision.”

Meanwhile, veteran actor Dave Anderson has questioned why any staff cut is being made while jobs are being advertised for Equity in London.

And actors online have openly challenged Equity general secretary Paul Fleming, a Labour member on London’s Southwark County Council, on social media, with Tam Dean Burn telling him he’s “letting Equity members down”.

Robertson, who plays Stevie O’Hara on River City, told the Sunday National it’s feared that “the next obvious step would be to take Glasgow under London control”.

He says there’s no suggestion Equity considered selling assets or reducing costs in other ways to save cash.

Robertson said: “We have a strong trade union in Glasgow, which is working.

“They are planning to completely diminish that office. Some members are now saying ‘do we need to talk about having a breakaway Scottish union that represents us?’”

On the allocation of resources, he said full staffing is crucial to enable cast visits to take place, allowing reps time to reach productions in Inverness, Dundee, Mull and other locations separated by A-roads and ferry journeys.

Drew McFarlane, who retired from his role as Northern Ireland and Scotland organiser for Equity three years ago, has called the situation “disgraceful”, saying: “This is a cash-rich, asset-rich union and furlough has been extended to April.

“This decision is not in the best interests of the membership.

“Any notion of democracy has been stamped on by a very big heel.”

The Sunday National asked Equity about the points made by Scottish members.

In response, it sent a statement that’s been shared by Fleming on social media, saying he and the finance head have taken pay cuts and the provision of private healthcare for “some staff “ has ended. Stating that the Glasgow operation will now be “exclusively Scotland-focused”, it goes on: “On the metrics used to assess every area (geography, workplaces, membership), the current responsibilities of the Glasgow office falls below the average amounts of work for a nation or region in 19 of the 25.”