Happy Worker’s Day, everyone! Today exists for everyone who does a job, no matter what that job is, or who does it. I would like to bring special attention to those of us who work in showbiz, often with terrible hours for little pay. 1/?
Norway doesn’t have a union specifically for stage techs, sound techs, light techs, stagehands, and other behind the scenes folk who do their work mostly freelance. Unless you can get a steady job at a theatre or a music venue, you have no job security, no pension. 2/?
I would also like to bring your attention to the plight of sex workers, who are (with the exception of countries where it’s all decriminalised) at best forced to work in unsafe conditions, and at worst get arrested if they report a sexual assault. 3/?
In Scandinavia, where it’s supposed to be legal to sell sex but not to buy it, sex workers risk eviction from their homes, having their children taken away from them, and working together (even sharing a flat to work from) is considered as brothel activity, which is illegal. 4/?
Sex workers who want to pay taxes and contribute to society can’t, because even though they’re strictly speaking not breaking any laws, you can’t start a business around selling sex either. 5/?
Meanwhile, there are asylum seekers and refugees who come to our countries, wanting to work and contribute and not be a burden, who aren’t allowed to before their paperwork has been fully processed, which can take years. Some of these end up working illegally, 6/?
...because sitting around with nothing to do, unable to make money or contribute in any way, living off of benefits that nobody could be expected to survive on, when one is fully capable of working, is deeply detrimental to a person’s mental health. 7/?
So, this worker’s day, give a thought to those who still don’t have job security, who want to work but aren’t allowed to, who are forced to do their work in secret. Improving the rights of all workers is important, and no one should be left behind. 8/8 #WorkersDay #sexworkiswork
