MORE than 1,000 workers in the British film industry are suspended without pay amid strikes by Hollywood writers and actors, according to creative industries trade union Bectu.

Productions filming here such as musical Wicked, Deadpool 3 and a Formula 1 feature film starring Brad Pitt have been paused amid the US industrial dispute over pay and use of actors’ images via artificial intelligence.

Bectu national secretary Spencer MacDonald told a webinar he has witnessed workers being suspended under clauses in one-sided contracts known as force majeure, which relieve employers of legal obligations when circumstances beyond their control arise.