There’s something majestic about live performances. The anticipation in the build up. The excitement as the house lights dim. The ripple of electricity that permeates through the audience as the artist takes to the stage and the production comes alive.

They’re a visual, awesome display of how we present our culture to the world. They’re valuable too. Scotland’s creative industries contribute an estimated £5 billion to our economy and support over 100,000 jobs.

That’s a lot. More than people realise and it is high time they were treated fairly.

Our latest STUC report, Freelance and Forgotten, crashes open the stage door and draws back the curtain on Scotland’s arts & culture sector. It paints a very different picture that the reality we dare to dream whilst getting lost in the dazzling performances of our favourite artists. It’s a sector of exploitation, insecurity and systemic neglect. The voices of over 800 workers from across the sector were unequivocal: Fair Work is still a distant dream for most creative freelancers in Scotland.

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Fair........

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