NUJ wins Scottish trade union commitment to fair work for freelances

SCOTLAND’S TRADES UNIONS are pushing for Holyrood ministers to go further in protecting freelances from exploitation.

The Scottish Government’s Fair Work framework sets out that government-funded bodies should pay at least the living wage; tackle the gender pay gap; and not make “inappropriate” use of zero-hours contracts. That includes organisations that receive grants from arts agency Creative Scotland. Many of these employ or engage NUJ members or those eligible for membership, such as small publishers, independent magazines and arts festivals.

But there are many examples of Creative Scotland-funded organisations and projects asking journalists, PRs and authors to work for less than the living wage – or in some cases, work for free.

At the Scottish TUC (STUC) Congress on April 20 to 22, the NUJ delegation secured unanimous backing for strengthening these protections. A composite motion called for this guidance to be made statutory. It also said that provisions for an “effective voice” for workers in Fair Work and for the policy explicitly to require trade union recognition. The NUJ now expects the STUC to lobby the Scottish Government to secure this.

“We need enforceable standards and statutory duties for organisations to comply with Fair Work standards, with funding withdrawn from those who do not comply,” NUJ delegate Jim Symons told STUC Congress.

“If we get pay, terms and conditions up in publicly funded organisations, that will drive them up for freelance work in the private sector too.

“And staff employees have a key role too – in ensuring that freelance pay, terms and conditions are included in their negations.”

Any freelances working for Scottish Government-funded organisations should check if their contract is compliant with Fair Work principles. These can be found here

If it is not, Glasgow branch wants to hear from you: contact nujglasgowsecretary@gmail.com

© Conrad Landin

The illustrated fair work guide for employers creativescotland.com