Freelance and Forgotten: widespread exploitation uncovered by unions
Over 50% of arts workers have experienced or witnessed bullying, sexual harassment, or abuse according to stark new research from Scotland’s largest trade union body.
‘Freelance and Forgotten: a report on worker exploitation in Scotland’s creative industries’, launched today by Scottish Trades Union Congress, outlines the scale of abuse suffered by Scotland’s freelance workers in the arts sector.
The data reveals 53% have experienced or seen bullying, harassment, or sexual harassment within the sector, with 32% of workers also having to sign a non-disclosure agreement forbidding them to talk about their work. In addition, testimony given to the report shows that 69% of workers have experienced late payment in relation to their work whilst 33% of not been paid at all for the freelance work undertaken.
The union body, alongside creative arts unions across Scotland, are calling on the Scottish Government to embed Fair Work for Scotland’s freelance and creative workers. The sector, worth over £5 billion to the economy in Scotland and supports over 100,000 workers, could be a “leading light in fair work” according STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer. The report comes as the Scottish Government’s Culture Fair Work Taskforce are due to publish their recommendations on embedding Fair Work within the culture sector.
Commenting, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said:
“It’s abundantly clear that, however well-intentioned the Scottish Government are with their Fair Work agenda, it simply does not exist for workers within the creative sector.
“Fair work means fair work. It doesn’t mean, as our report found, hundreds of workers being subject to bullying, sexual harassment and abuse within a sector built upon precarity and inequality.
“The Scottish Government must take seriously our findings and hear the voices of Scotland’s creative workers if we are to protect and enhance their livelihoods. With over 100,000 workers in the sector, the arts in Scotland could be the leading light in fair work. However, that simply cannot be done whilst the rights of creative workers continue to be ridden roughshod by shoddy employers and poor employment practices. This must change and the Scottish Government and all sector partners must work together to make Fair Work a reality.
END
Notes to editors:
The full report, ‘Freelance and Forgotten: a report on worker exploitation in Scotland’s creative industries’, is attached to this release.
Story first appeared within today’s Herald Scotland
Further comments from Scotland’s creative unions can be found below:
Musicians’ Union Regional Organiser, Caroline Sewell said; “Whilst this report will read as somewhat shocking for many, sadly there won’t be many surprises for those working in the creative industries in Scotland who are acutely aware of these issues which this report holds up to the light.
“It is clear from the findings of this report that freelance musicians, and other creative workers are being routinely undervalued, underpaid, and mistreated in an industry that simply could not function without them. Enough is enough.”
Scottish Artists Union:
“The findings from the STUC Freelance and Forgotten Survey & Report are both shocking and unsurprising.
“We knew from our own SAU members’ surveys, and ongoing casework, that freelance artists in the visual arts and applied arts sectors have been experiencing significant exploitation and discrimination.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe and welcome at work. Everyone should be standing up against bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination in our workplaces. It is vitally important that freelance workers are given the same protections as employed workers.”
The Scottish Society of Playwrights:
“Playwrights have historically been among the better paid, better treated freelancers in the theatre sector. But this is because there are a comparatively small number of us who have been represented in collective bargaining by a trade union, the SSP, for 50 years. This is no guarantee of the future, of course, with uncertainty and commercial timidity infecting our whole industry. The best future we’ve got is in solidarity with our fellow cultural freelancers and in the value our government and people place on our labour.
Writers’ Guild of Great Britain General Secretary, Ellie Peers said:
“WGGB and our freelance members are all too aware of the poor practice that is highlighted in the STUC report Freelance & Forgotten. The report is an important step in raising awareness of worker exploitation in Scotland’s creative industries and a call for action on Fair Work for Freelancers that we support.”
END
Read the full report here:
https://www.stuc.org.uk/resources/freelance-and-forgotten-a-report-on-worker-exploitation-in-scotlands-creative-industries.pdf
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