NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Calendar Girls dancers take employment campaign to Parliament

RNZ
19 Feb, 2023 03:58 AM7 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A protester makes her point outside Calendar Girls Wellington.

A protester makes her point outside Calendar Girls Wellington.

By Asia Martusia King, RNZ

Calendar Girls dancers told not to come back to work are picketing outside of the strip club and lobbying Parliament over their rights as independent contractors.

Nineteen dancers working for Wellington’s Calendar Girls were told not to come back to work via a Facebook post, after requesting better contracts.

Setting up a strip pole opposite Calendar Girls, about 60 picketers danced while giving out pamphlets and chocolate. The goal, dancer Blake said, was to “gather new contractor rights and legislation”.

“Some of these clubs have really bad management and a culture of bullying people. We at least want to make a small step in changing that.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
A protester addresses the crowd outside Calendar Girls in Wellington.
A protester addresses the crowd outside Calendar Girls in Wellington.

On January 30, 35 dancers from Wellington’s Calendar Girls decided to collectivise. Their new 2023 independent contract was “manipulative”, says Melanie*, one of the affected dancers, and needed changes. The dancers asked Calendar Girls management for two things: clear income records and a 60 per cent cut of earnings.

“A group of dancers had begun writing a letter requesting that we have clear income records given to us, because we weren’t being given the correct receipts in our pay packets,” Melanie said.

“Nobody had a clear idea of their income, which is a problem when you’re trying to prove it to IRD.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Currently, Calendar Girls dancers may pay up to 56 per cent of earnings back to their employer. “Sometimes you just wouldn’t get paid at all,” Melanie said.

“Dancers collect tips in Calendar Girls money from patrons and all private bookings get paid through the till. Dancers then hand in their tips at the end of the shift and get 80 per cent back. The dancers’ ‘cut’ of the booking price also goes on their account, and gets paid out to them the following week. So say a dancer gets a customer to book a $150 private dance, only $75 of that goes to the dancer.”

Crowds gather outside Calendar Girls in Wellington.
Crowds gather outside Calendar Girls in Wellington.

An email asking for changes was sent. The next day, over half of those dancers were told by the proprietor via a Facebook group post to “clear out their lockers”. The proprietor uses a pseudonym on Facebook.

“We took that as being fired, because that’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s so obviously a direct retaliation to the letter,” Melanie said.

“She said that management had been intentionally ambiguous. Dancers went in on Thursday to clear out their lockers and “had this big long chat with a manager - she said ‘nobody is fired, but you’re not allowed to work’.”

The manager was verbally abusive, Melanie said, but promised to set up a meeting. The meeting never happened, she said.

Immediately after the proprietor’s post asking the dancers to clear their lockers, his account made another Facebook post seeking accommodation for what appeared to be their replacements.

In a statement, Calendar Girls management said 12 of the 19 dancers asked to clear their locker had already moved away or stopped working for the club.

“The club only has a limited amount of lockers and needs them for contractors [to] do weekly shifts as most of the other seven only do a day here and there bar one who was trespassed. And all contractors were told they can reapply online anytime.”

‘Nobody told to reapply’

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Any contractors unhappy with their payment were “welcome anytime to discuss it”, they said.

But Melanie said none of the group had stopped working for the club before the post and nobody had been told to reapply.

Green MP Jan Logie lends her support to the dancers and their right to employment protections.
Green MP Jan Logie lends her support to the dancers and their right to employment protections.

Calendar Girls Wellington duty manager Lorna said she encouraged “people to come in, talk to our dancers working here and see the story for themselves. Ask as a customer if they feel happy, unsafe, or bullied”.

“I think that there’s a lot of misinformation out there. It feels to me that [the picketers] are just throwing sh** at the wall to see what sticks.”

Taking the case to Parliament

The 19 dancers have formed a group called the Fired Up Stilettos and are seeking improved industry standards and independent contractor protection.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The ultimate goal is to have an official body that can vet strip club contracts and investigate complaints. The group is meeting with Green MP Jan Logie in March.

It would be ideal to have someone in Government who has prior experience working in strip clubs, Melanie said.

“Nobody really does know about the industry, and they never really have. That’s what’s got to change - an understanding of how it works. What we really want, and what I think we’re going to get, is someone in Parliament who has to look at the contracts that clubs draw up.

“Dancers should know whether they’re [on] an improved contract or not. The clubs aren’t held accountable by anyone... apart from us, theoretically. We should have the power because we are the commodity, but we don’t.”

Melanie hopes to mobilise dancers across the country “to get as many in that meeting as possible”.

“It’s open to anybody who is a dancer, has been a dancer in the past, and wants to see change in the industry. We’re drawing up a petition at the moment,” she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Fired Up Stilettos has been assembling a following on social media. Its campaign has raised over $13,000 since the launch.

“The problem stems from the ambiguity of our roles as independent contractors despite being overwhelmingly treated like employees,” the group said.

“Nationwide, dancer contracts are predatory by nature and are riddled with fines, retainer bonds and clauses forbidding work at competing venues and media engagement.

“Not standing against these serious workplace issues out of fear perpetuates a vicious cycle of worsening exploitation.”

Law and order

Unite Union legal officer Lauren McGee believed the 19 dancers were subjected to “an unlawful termination” under the contract they had with Calendar Girls.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Employers cannot unilaterally change the terms and conditions of an agreement and then instantly dismiss their workers for attempting to engage in a discussion about those changes,” she said.

“Calendar Girls is not above the law. There are basic rights in New Zealand to adhere to, clauses in an agreement to abide by and contract law must always be followed.”

Hired by strip clubs as independent contractors, dancers have the right to negotiate their payments. As independent contractors, however, they lack the protection of the Employment Relations Act.

“There is currently a gap in the legislative framework for many types of contracting work when it comes to protections for the workers, enforcement and monitoring mechanisms, and avenues for redress,” McGee said.

“These clubs country-wide exert an immense and unfair level of control over their workers and have continued to profit from illegal fines of their workers with virtually no repercussions. The strip club industry, as well as many others, relies on it being a difficult, expensive and individual battle for these workers to stand up for and enforce their rights as contractors every time.”

“I urge the New Zealand public to get behind these ladies and to get behind improvements to the protections for contractors in our legal systems.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Aotearoa NZ Sex Workers’ Collective founder and national co-ordinator Dame Catherine Healy said there were many coercive practices across the industry. If they were properly scrutinised, many would not hold up under law.

“We feel committed to finding a solution - the dancers are inspirational.”

A representative of Stripper’s United, a US strippers union, said firing experienced dancers led to further exploitation of inexperienced newcomers.

“The concerning thing about this is that when they mass-fire dancers that have been there for so long, they are usually the dancers who take baby strippers under their wing. So when the experienced dancers are fired, they’re replaced by dancers with little to no experience; they’re easy to exploit, and easy to take advantage of. It’s deeply concerning for the safety of strippers.

“Being a stripper, our customers and the general public can be very against us. When you feel like management isn’t on your side, it adds a layer of stress on top of a job that’s already so stressful and vulnerable. Management should be the people rallying with us, not against us. We need to feel like they’re in our court. It’s anxiety-inducing and impacts your ability to make a living.”

*Names have been changed.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Kāinga Ora appears not to care about mistreated dogs - neighbour

13 May 09:57 AM
New Zealand|crime

'Investigation cannot be compromised': Top cop accepts McSkimming resignation 'raises questions'

13 May 08:12 AM
New Zealand

'Truly amazing': Schick family launches fundraiser for emergency services after tragedy

13 May 08:07 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Kāinga Ora appears not to care about mistreated dogs - neighbour

Kāinga Ora appears not to care about mistreated dogs - neighbour

13 May 09:57 AM

Three dogs in Bucklands Beach were seized and euthanised because of neglect.

'Investigation cannot be compromised': Top cop accepts McSkimming resignation 'raises questions'

'Investigation cannot be compromised': Top cop accepts McSkimming resignation 'raises questions'

13 May 08:12 AM
'Truly amazing': Schick family launches fundraiser for emergency services after tragedy

'Truly amazing': Schick family launches fundraiser for emergency services after tragedy

13 May 08:07 AM
'You need help': Judge urges man to stop drinking after 13th drink-driving conviction

'You need help': Judge urges man to stop drinking after 13th drink-driving conviction

13 May 08:00 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP