Letters: Murky side of Fringe is no laughing matter

As we enter September and local residents begin to feel comfortable venturing back into Edinburgh’s city centre, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on some of the lesser publicised issues of the many festivals hosted during August by the Scottish capital.

Whilst many celebrated the wealth of incredible domestic and international talents on show at The Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival, record ticket sales for a sixth successive year, and an unprecedented number of visitors, the exploitative practices of many employers and local landlords were once again hidden in plain sight.

As noted during the Scottish Socialist Party’s fantastic Wheel of Misfortune event (Saturday 25th August 2018), staff at several festival venues earned mere pennies per hour, whilst year-round tenants faced being turfed out of their homes in favour of more lucrative profits to be made thanks to the largely unregulated official festival partner AirBnB.

Whilst there is much to enjoy for those able to afford tickets to witness the musical, comedic, and literary talents brought to our city, should it be permitted to take priority over local communities?

Thanks to pivotal work from not only the Scottish Socialist Party, but also the Fair Fringe, and Living Rent Campaign, worker exploitation, intimidating workplace practices – such as replacing paid posts with ‘volunteers’ (thus avoiding worker rights) – and the disgraceful treatment of many year-round tenants are rapidly coming to light.