Nearly 20 dancers at Wellington’s Calendar Girls strip club have lost their jobs after an attempt to collectively negotiate their contract.

One of the workers, who the Herald has agreed not to name, said the current issue arose when 35 dancers signed an email with “just two requests”.

That letter was in opposition to a new payment system which they said would result in higher prices for the customer, a smaller cut to the dancer and a larger percentage for the club.

It also asked the company to provide the entertainers with “thorough” documentation before the tax season commences and to compensate those who had been underpaid.

 “If you can imagine, if you have 20 girls working on a Saturday night and you were taking 50 per cent - if not more - of their income for every single booking they make, it is ludicrous, and it is unnecessary.”

Instead of engaging with the workers, who had requested a 60/40 split - which she said had largely already been in place - she said within 24-hours the club owner posted on Facebook asking 19 of the women to “clear out” their stuff.

“The effect is obviously so collective, but so individual at the same time, because we all have completely different lives.”

Another issue facing the women, she said, was being “black listed” from other clubs because of their collective request.

She said there were also “compounding issues” around the country that had built up, including what she described as “very heavy” fines.

“For example, miss your stage spot, $250 fine, things like that, that you have no ability to protest, so that’s a huge issue for quite a few clubs.”

A copy of the 2023 Calendar Girls contract seen by the Herald lists 13 “inconvenience fees” dancers may have to fork out for.

These include - but are not limited to - a $250 “fee” for wearing a thong during their second song or tip round, instead of being fully nude, and a $500 fee and 50 per cent tip forfeiture for being rude to management.

“There is no point of contact that any of us can actually go to to ask for help, because we sit in this grey area of being an independent contractor.

“But then we’re acting as employees, I mean sure we can choose our shifts but we don’t get a say in when we get to arrive, if we want to leave and generally those are things that are afforded to people as independent contractors.

‘‘There’s actually a lot of control exhibited by clubs, how many songs you dance to, what kind of style of music you dance to, how many hours you have to work, when you’re allowed to go and eat.”

Calendar Girls claimed in a statement it had not changed its private dancer cost for 12 years.

“In hindsight we should put the cost up a little each year.”

The organisation said that while the percentage had changed, the contractor amount went up. However, the former worker disagreed and said a 50 per cent cut was less than 60 per cent.

Calendar Girls also said the contracts were written by a specialist lawyer and although there were fines in the contracts “not one” has been issued in Wellington this financial year.

“The 19 contractors, some of which who have already moved on or only do a day here and there and, with a limited amount of lockers, we need them for new contractors working weekly. All of which were told they could re-apply online.”

The dancer also disputed the claim they were told to re-apply.

This isn’t the first time dancers have taken issue with the organisation.

In 2018 two former workers took Casino Bar Limited, which runs Calendar Girls in Christchurch, to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) - unsuccessfully claiming unjustified dismissal, and in the case of Hamilton-Redmond, unjustified constructive dismissal.

While the ERA said that while the strip club’s fining system would be “highly-problematic and highly-unusual” in an employment relationship, it was “indicative” of an independent contractor relationship.

Another worker who was also recently told to clear out said the fines have a “huge impact” on dancers.

“You have no way to really support yourself, or speak up for yourself because you get fired. So it breeds fear.”

Because dancing in these venues are so particular, she said their group, Fired Up Stilettos, don’t want restrictions that make their jobs harder.

As a collective, she said they want “tiny changes”, including clubs to following the law, which she believes they are not.

“Then a couple of changes to that. So what we want is removal of non-competition clauses, so that’s basically in competition clauses where it says if you work for us you can’t work for anybody else.”

This, she said, would improve the working environment for the dancers as it would make clubs have to make conditions to keep dancers.

They also want to remove fines and bonds from all dancing contracts.

In her opinion, fines could result in labour trafficking, as if a worker comes in late or is fined for something else, their total has gone from “zero to minus”.

“That is working off a debt whatever way you frame it,” she claimed.

As well as this, the woman said they want control of their working hours, which is already stated in independent contracting legislation.

Finally they want clubs to be unable to fire dancers based on them wanting to collectively negotiate or bargain.

Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers’ Collective national organiser Dame Catherine Healy told the Herald she believed there was “no good faith” coming out of “that institution”.

“To withdraw those contracts without effective negotiation was absolutely appalling. To lose your income overnight is terrifying.”

She said contracts have been used to coerce dancers to turn up for work, or give fines, since contracts at strip clubs have existed.

Dame Catherine Healy. Photo / RNZ

“Nobody should be fined for exercising their independence in this context. Let’s not forget they’re going to perform, they’re strippers, dancers and it’s an environment where people should have autonomy.”

To help support those impacted by the job losses, the women have also launched a GoFundMe.