"The MU is delighted to have had the opportunity to sit on the Task Force for the past 18 months." Photo: Shutterstock
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has welcomed the recommendations set out in the Scottish Government’s Culture Fair Work Task Force report, published last week. The independent Task Force was established in 2024 to advise on employment conditions across Scotland’s culture and creative industries.
Following extensive engagement with workers and organisations throughout the sector, the Task Force has issued 16 recommendations aimed at improving Fair Work practices. These proposals address long-standing concerns including precarious freelance employment, unpaid internships, and pay and conditions across the industry.
Caroline Sewell, MU Regional Organiser for Scotland and Northern Ireland, sits on the Task Force as a board member. She described the recommendations as a significant breakthrough for Fair Work and a model of good practice that could be adopted elsewhere.
The recommendations include:
- the creation of a disputes and adjudication mechanism to handle disputes between employers and staff
- safeguarding of creatives’ work against theft from AI misappropriation, and
- an increased role for Creative Scotland in ensuring Fair Work.
“This work was essential in order to navigate the complexities that define the nature of the work of our members”
Caroline Sewell, MU Regional Organiser for Scotland and Northern Ireland said: “The MU is delighted to have had the opportunity to sit on the Task Force for the past 18 months. This work was essential in order to navigate the complexities that define the nature of the work of our members and other creative workers.
“As highlighted in the STUC’s recent report ‘Freelance and Forgotten’, the creative industries have been rife with precarity, low pay and exploitation and these recommendations provide the pathway to deliver real and meaningful change. We implore the Scottish Government to enact these in full in order to ensure our culture sector is fully supported and enabled to thrive and reach its full potential for our economy, our communities, audiences and the working lives of the creatives who drive it.”
Fair Work for Freelancers Checklist
The Task Force report comes as 29 creative-sector organisations have already backed a new Fair Work for Freelancers Checklist, developed alongside trade unions and the STUC, signalling broad industry support for stronger rights and protections for freelance workers in Scotland. Find out more from Caroline below or read more here.