WATCH: Fringe workers demanding better working conditions

Published 17th Aug 2017
Last updated 22nd Aug 2017

Some temporary workers at the Edinburgh Festivals are demanding better conditions - claiming they're being exploited.

They say they can be sacked at a moment's notice and have their hours changed at the last minute.

Forth News has been speaking to 20-year-old Kai Stewart, who has worked in various festival venues over the last four years. He says he has faced long hours with no breaks, zero-hour contracts and hostile working enviroments.

He said: "I think alot of people don't realise that behind the scenes there is exploitation. A lot of these people are students and young people, they don't get a lot of training and quite often work in conditions where it's really hard to obtain your rights. Most of them probably don't even know their rights.

"It's quite hard to have a positive attitude - which you have to have if you are working in front of festival crowds - if you don't know when you're going to be working, or what hours you'll be working. For me, I've been paid fine but I have no job security, I have no contract, and I can be fired anytime for anything."

A new campaign called 'Fair Fringe' has been launched calling for an end to this and asking festival employers to agree to better conditions for staff.

Kirsty Haigh is one of the campaign's organisers...

Bosses at the Fringe told Forth News that they have begun an "open dialogue" with union Unite and the Fair Fringe campaign.