The agreement has been reached with the Trades Union Congress (TUC), together with its affiliates the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU), Equity and the Musicians' Union.

Under the MoU, creative sectors workers at the Games are entitled to nationally recognised rates of pay.

A distinction between volunteers, community art and professional work has been established by the MoU, which ensures that work on a community and voluntary level supplements rather than replaces paid work.

Additionally, it pledges that Birmingham 2022 will promote diversity and the long-term success of the creative sector in the West Midlands region.

The agreement outlines a commitment to "support and promote diversity in the engagement of professional creative sector workers who are based in Birmingham and the Midlands in order to support the long term cultural and economic prosperity of the region".

A Birmingham 2022 spokesperson welcomed the signing of the MoU.

"We're pleased to have worked with the Trade Union Congress to ensure all our professional creatives working on the Games are paid fairly," theey said.

The TUC's Midlands regional secretary Lee Barron emphasised the significance of the agreement.

"The Commonwealth Games belongs to all of us and that includes the professional artists who will play such an integral role in bringing the Games to life throughout this wonderful summer carnival of sport," Barron said.

"And that is why it is right that the Commonwealth Games have signed this agreement with our cultural unions.

"Performers have, for too long, been exploited and taken for granted.

"With artists rewarded fairly, community involvement championed and diversity and long-term support for our cultural economy at the heart of the strategy, this is truly a landmark agreement."

The chair of the TUC Midlands Creative and Leisure Industry Committee Stephen Brown, who is also the Musicians' Union's regional organiser, argued that the MoU offered an example of how staging the Commonwealth Games can benefit Birmingham.

"I'm delighted that the three cultural unions, BECTU, Equity and the Musicians' Union, working through the TUC, have secured this landmark agreement with the Birmingham Organising Committee for the Commonwealth Games," Brown commented.

"Trade unions backed the bid to secure the Commonwealth Games here in Birmingham.

"We know how much it means to our city and what it can deliver and this agreement is evidence of the Games delivering for Birmingham.

"It ensures that creative sector workers at the Games get paid the right rate for the work they do, and it respects their intellectual property rights.

"Importantly, it also sets a benchmark for the best working practices in our industry, ensuring a focus on delivering equality, diversity and inclusion, which is vital as a legacy for trade unions and the Games in our region."

The move come following the announcement of the musical line-up for the Opening Ceremony at the Alexander Stadium on July 28, which is set to be headlined by Duran Duran and feature a series of local musicians and artists.

The Birmingham 2022 Festival also opened in March, featuring a series of cultural events in the build-up to, during and after the Commonwealth Games.