Freelance and Forgotten: A Report on Worker Exploitation in Scotland's Creative Industries

That the Parliament notes the Scottish Trades Union Congress's new report, Freelance and Forgotten: a report on worker exploitation in Scotland’s creative industries, which is based on a survey of more than 800 workers; notes the findings, which show that 69% of respondents have experienced issues relating to late payment for work, 33% have not been paid for work undertaken, 73% rarely or never have access to a clear and accessible complaints and appeal process, 53% have experienced, or seen, bullying, harassment or sexual harassment, 57% have rarely or never undertaken freelance work that presented fair royalties and/or intellectual property allocations, 32% have signed a non-disclosure agreement or similar contractual clause asking them not to talk about work, 83% have seen a real term fall in earnings in recent years, and 34% think there are equal pay issues at their work; notes that there are more than 100,000 workers in Scotland’s creative industries; believes that the report exposes shocking working practices and that they have no place in Scotland in 2025, and calls on the Scottish Government, and funding bodies such as Creative Scotland, to act on the recommendations in the report.