UNI Report: Pandemic Reshapes Europe’s Cultural Sector, Deepening Inequalities
The COVID-19 pandemic has permanently transformed Europe’s cultural industries, resulting in an uneven recovery characterized by rapid digital growth, job insecurity, and expanding gender inequalities. This conclusion is drawn in a new report commissioned by UNI Europa, titled The Post-COVID Transformations in the Live Performance and Audiovisual Sectors – A Trade Union Analysis.
The study highlights how the crisis intensified persistent structural issues within the cultural sector, such as unpredictable work hours, insecure contracts, burnout, and a decline in job quality. Additionally, it accelerated the digital shift in audiovisual and live performance industries.
"The pandemic must not be remembered as the point when the creative workforce became disposable," said Johannes Studinger, Head of Media, Entertainment & Arts at UNI Global Union. "Market dominance in cultural sectors is squeezing workers, increasing precarity and funneling profits to a handful of multinational companies."
Key Findings
- Uneven recovery with digital acceleration across cultural industries.
- Increased job precarity and widening gender disparities.
- Exacerbation of long-standing structural issues like insecure contracts and burnout.
- Shift toward digital work in live performance and audiovisual sectors.
- Growing market concentration benefiting a small group of multinational companies at the expense of workers.
Johannes Studinger's Perspective
Studinger emphasizes that the crisis should not mark a moment when creative professionals become expendable, warning about rising precarity and profit consolidation into few large corporations.
Author’s summary: The pandemic accelerated digital and economic shifts in Europe’s cultural sector, worsening worker insecurity and gender gaps, while benefiting dominant global firms.