Thread by @rosieabeast

📢 Looky looky, @ThePleasance have released their call out for volunteers as well @edfringe. Is it as bad as @Cvenues - let's find out!
First up: expectations. From the off the expectation is that you will work the full festival 6 days a week and help with the GET IN AND GET OUT

For folk with disabilities this is an immediate red flag. In my DM's I've messages from ex Pleasance workers detailing how the get-in and get-out process was so unsafe they just walked away. Others have mentioned crying on the stairs due to overwork and stress - not a great start

Of course the get-in and get-out suggests as a volunteer you will be expected to do the same work as the people getting paid, which as we know is illegal. You can't ask folk to do work for free when others are being paid for it, so this opening is, well...

You get £580 for your trouble - which if you work 9hrs/day/week = £2.10/hr
Of course, as the messages of volunteer experiences shared in my inbox highlight, you'll more likely be working 10-12hr shifts, so more like £1.60/hr for your efforts.

The £ is for "legitimate subsistences", however you receive 1/2 midway through the festival, 1/2 at the end: how exactly are you supposed to buy food in 1 of the UK's most expensive cities during it's most expensive time of year if you don't have the cash to do so?!

Of course your actual hours won't be discussed until interview: again this is a huge red flag for anyone with additional access needs, caring responsibilities - or, you know, any semblance of a life.
They do mention working for 1 week, instead of the full festival...

These opps are only really for Edinburgh folk who have accommodation, and it suggests you'll be working LONGER hours because of this. THIS MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. But of course highlights how the pleasance contributes to the housing crisis happening here in Edinburgh...

for those of you who don't know, there are mass shortages of housing in the city despite several thousand homes sitting empty almost year round until the festivals. It's been labelled as the largest contributor to poverty in the city by the poverty commission.

But back to this opp: they're super keen to hear from those underrepresented in the creative industries. Aw, thanks guys, the irony being that marginalised folk are more likely to be experiencing poverty and really the only way to tackle that is TO PAY PEOPLE.

But no, please ask marginalised folk to work for free because that is of course not problematic🤦‍♀️

Finally, the stinger for me is "reasonable adjustments" to be highlighted. What does that mean for someone with a disability? Are you suggesting wheelchair access as a reasonable...

adjustment or would that be too much to ask? This opportunity is defining what is a reasonable or unreasonable disability or additional support need, and is therefor fundamentally ableist and ageist. At its heart it's also institutionally racist and classist by expecting...

marginalised folk to work for free, especially considering other people will at points be getting paid for the same work.
Once again I am asking @edfringe @culturescotgov @AngusRobertson @CreativeScots to help tackle this unethical and, frankly shady volunteering practices.

I have in my DM's counts of bullying, harassment, mental health melt downs from over work and financial stress, volunteers being asked to share rooms, being labelled "difficult" for crying after a 14hr shift, volunteers working 60-80hrs IN A WEEK! This needs to end now.