Strip club dancers to step up action with Parliament protest on Sunday
Strip club dancers, fighting for better labour rights in Aotearoa will be holding a protest on Parliament grounds on Sunday.MONIQUE FORD / Stuff
Sienna* had worked in strip clubs across Aotearoa and overseas, but working for ShowGirls in Auckland was the first time she experienced “wage theft”.
The dancer spent a month working at the club – notorious among dancers and known for its strict fining system – before going overseas last year.
The club took $50 to $100 each shift she worked as bond money in case they were to fine her, totalling $550 when she left.
But when Sienna contacted the club to get her bond back, she was first told it had been erased from the system, or they had paid her, then, that it had been forfeited because she didn’t give notice before leaving.
READ MORE:
* The 'unchecked power' of strip clubs and the workers pushing back
* Dancers and sex workers lift the lid on workplace exploitation
* Dancers take case to Parliament about working conditions at strip clubs
“I said my last day in an email and it was in my contract,” Sienna said.
It was something members of the Fired Up Stilettos collective described as “wage theft” and were protesting to change, along with other work conditions imposed by management they described as abusive and exploitative.
The group, made up of dancers fired by Wellington Calendar Girls earlier this year after bargaining collectively for better contracts, were stepping up their action by holding a protest at Parliament grounds on Sunday.
It would be their third protest, but the first to be held during the day, after two protests held outside Calendar Girls.
Sienna said raising the issue about the $550 was about principle.
The protest, organised by the Fired Up Stilettos collective, will be the third protest after two which were held outside Wellington Calendar Girls earlier this year.Supplied / Stuff
“I think they can just get away with it because they have, in the past, got away with it so often,” she said.
“I just want to make others aware ... I would like my money back, but I just want to make this public.”
Seeing members of the Fired Up Stilettos speak up about their experiences was empowering, Sienna said.
“I think this movement is helping girls to get more clarity on the industry, and I’m all for it.”
She still worked as a dancer and mostly had good experiences, but she didn’t hesitate to warn others about the practices at ShowGirls that many in the past had accepted as normal.
A spokesperson for Fired Up Stilettos said the movement was gaining traction from dancers across the motu and it was their goal to have industry standards implemented nationwide for their work as independent contractors.
'Stripping was all I had': Former dancer exposes Calendar Girls' rules and fines
Documents seen by Stuff illustrate strict rules that dancers must adhere to, or face fines in the form of pay deductions. (First published in 2017)
In a petition, which had more than 3000 signatures, it called for the House of Representatives to establish the right of independent adult workers to collectively bargain while maintaining an independent contract status; outlaw all fines and bonds between employers and contractors; and establish a nationwide mandatory maximum of 20% that an employer could take from a contractor’s profits.
The spokesperson said the public support the movement gained was emboldening and encouraged them to keep fighting.
“But that’s not tangible, it’s not a change that is going to impact the lives of dancers in New Zealand still working in clubs and still facing these conditions every day to make a living,” she said.
Dancers still working in clubs had voiced that conditions were worsening in clubs, with managers threatening to fire dancers for following the movement, she said. “It’s a really urgent problem.”
So far, they had only had engagement from Green Party MPs and were calling on other parties to take action.
“We need Labour to come onboard and recognise that this is a workers’ rights issue and that it needs immediate attention.”
The protest would be held on Parliament grounds from 1.30pm till 4pm on Sunday. Green Party MP Jan Logie who had been supporting the movement would be speaking, as well as members of the collective.
The group also had permission to set up a pole on Parliament grounds.
ShowGirls has been approached for comment.
*Sienna is her dancer name, not her real name
April 14, 2023, • 06:17pm