Image: NSWP/Scarlet Alliance
Sex workers at an inner Sydney brothel went on strike late Friday night, marking what strikers claim is Australia’s first ever brothel strike. Workers demanded better working conditions, including better pay and a cleaner workplace environment, as well as the right to decide which services they provide to clients.
Former employees of the Penthouse club delivered letters, supported by 14 signatories, to the front desk, where protestors allege their demands were met with aggression.
“Today, we walk out – until our needs are met,” they wrote. “You raise your cut on extra services we provide, without a raise for the ones providing it. Dictating the services we provide, taking away our choice with our own bodies.”
Speaking to the Guardian, former contractor Iris Hues said the club changed their pricing structure and service menu, raising rates without increasing workers’ pay, and also penalised them with hidden fees and fines. The letters also addressed the unhygienic work conditions, which the protestors said were to blame for an outbreak of respiratory illnesses.
While some demands were met, others, such as the reinstatement of the 60/40 sex worker/business earning split, were ignored.
After delivering the letters, the workers entered the club’s bar area where a 21 year old holding a placard was allegedly assaulted in front of approximately 40 patrons and employees.
New South Wales police said they received reports of an alleged assault at a business on Pitt Street, with officers being told of an altercation between “a group of people and a man, before the group left the scene.”
Investigations are in progress.
Hues said she was fired from the Penthouse last week, with all the protestors now having lost their contracts.
The club employs around 50 women, but Hues says many of them are anxious to strike and cannot afford to not work.
Strikes More Common As Decriminalisation Spreads
Although NSW was the first place in the world to begin the process of decriminalising sex work, many workers still face everyday discrimination in areas such as finance and housing, as well as at work.
Workers were expecting further anti-discrimination protections with the recent Equality Bill, however the Bill passed without any of the proposed legislative reforms.
“As sex workers are often considered independent contractors we aren’t afforded the same workplace protections as employees,” said Mish Pony, CEO of the Australian Sex Workers Alliance, Scarlet Alliance. “Whilst there have been some legislative changes to protect independent contractors from unfair terms, we would like to see more done to protect the rights of sex workers across Australia.”
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