Brian Ferguson: Fringe workers deserve fair wage for their work

It would not be Edinburgh in August without healthy doses of controversy. The past few weeks have not disappointed. Headlines about the demise of certain venues, rejections of visas, the impact of Brexit and the possibility of a four-month season to ease overcrowding on the streets have come thick and fast.

Workers at Edinburgh Festival Fringe deserve a fair wage for their work.

But I have a sneaking suspicion the stories that will have caused most discomfort in will have been those concerned with the pay packets of people working in venues.

The “Fair Fringe” campaign had a fairly low-key launch at the beginning of the month, but has gradually picked up steam, particularly since the MP Tommy Sheppard decided to get involved.

In addition, a parliamentary motion by the Scottish Greens has the backing of Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, along with more than 20 other MSPs.

And amid all the trumpet blowing about the 70th anniversary of the festivals have headlines about “The Secret Exploitation of the Fringe” and “The Dark Side of the Edinburgh Fringe.”

At the heart of the campaign, which has the backing of Britain’s biggest trade union, Unite, are claims of “widespread use of exploitative practices by Fringe employers.”

Among those are hiring staff as “volunteers” to dodge having to pay the Living Wage of £8.45 an hour, asking staff to work 12 hours or more without a break and paying flyerers as little as £10 for handing out 1,000 leaflets.

Unite wants to see all Fringe venues adopt its “Fair Hospitality Charter”, to ensure all venue workers are paid the Living Wage, that zero-hours contracts are banned, and that everyone gets breaks they are legally entitled to.

Pressure on the Fringe Society take to decisive action was stepped up by Mr Sheppard, a former member of its board, when he claimed that there was a strong ethical and moral case for change and that exploitation of venue staff had been “ignored for too long”.

At the end of last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon added her support, and suggested there was an “appetite and a willingness” from the festival organisers to address what she described as “legitimate” issues.

It is worth noting that a number of well-established Fringe performers have put their names to the campaign – Stephen K Amos Mark Thomas and Lucy Porter have had their say.

The Fringe Society says it has already begun talks with the organisers of the campaign and is working with the Living Wage Foundation to “support” venues and companies.

But this stops way short of introducing a formal code of practice for venues and insisting that the Living Wage is paid.

Mr Sheppard, founder of The Stand Comedy Club and a leading Fringe promoter before his election, hit the nail firmly on the head when he suggested that the lines between venue staff and volunteers are too blurred.

The reality is some Fringe venues, and indeed some of the other Edinburgh festivals, are over-reliant on volunteers and unable to pay all their workers a fair wage.

While there is nothing at all wrong with people gaining vital experience of the festivals, if they are working flat out for three or four weeks they deserve to be properly paid.

People working in hotels, cafes, bars and restaurants are presumably paid at least the Living Wage. It is only right that the same applies to workers in venues staging the events so many people have come to the city for.