Australian Ballet dancers begin industrial action over pay dispute: ‘They’re living on tuna and rice’
Negotiations between the Australian Ballet’s management and its employees have broken down and the dancers haven’t ruled out striking if a dispute over pay cannot be resolved.
Negotiations on a new EBA began last September and last week the dancers embarked on protected industrial action with a social media campaign through their union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
The sticking point is management’s refusal to maintain a clause in the dancers’ contract that guarantees pay will keep pace with inflation, a guarantee that has been in place for more than 20 years, to recognise dancers’ comparatively short career span.
Two Australian Ballet dancers who spoke to Guardian Australia said the consumer price index (CPI) guarantee in their agreement had never had to be invoked before. But over the last 12 months, with the RBA raising the cash rate 12 times in almost as many months, taking it to 4.1% on Tuesday, dancers say they are facing mounting financial hardship, as they continue to recover from a pay cut and then a pay freeze during the pandemic.
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“We had to dip into our savings and now with inflation, the cost of living is going up so high and many of us have no savings left,” one dancer said.
“We’ve had dancers who’ve had to cancel their health insurance. We have dancers who can’t afford groceries, they’re living off tuna and rice … it’s not ideal in a profession where you use your body so much and you’re expected to perform at an elite level.”
When Covid hit in 2020, the Australian Ballet cut its dancers’ wages by 20% and then by 50% to reflect a drastically reduced workload. The company drew on the federal government’s JobKeeper scheme to pay workers.
In 2021 the dancers returned to full pay, but agreed to a pay freeze for one year.
In February this year the dancers received a 4.3% “catch-up” pay rise to meet the obligations of the CPI clause, after receiving just 2.5% in 2022 when inflation peaked at over 7%.
An offer of a 1% pay rise for 2023 has been rejected by the dancers.
The Australian Ballet’s executive director, Lissa Twomey, said in a statement the wage offer put to the company’s dancers would still see them receive a 5.3% increase over what they were paid in 2022.
“It is higher than wage offers or agreements in peer dance organisations, and it comes at a time of significant economic challenges for our company, most notably the impending closure of our home theatre in Melbourne from 2024 to 2026,” she said.
Today, a dancer at entry level in the company earns just over $69,000. A senior artist earns just under $100,000. They typically work six days a week and spend about five months of the year touring. The average age of retirement for a ballet dancer is about 35.
With 60% of the company’s revenue drawn from ticket sales and theatres closing down from March 2020, the Australian Ballet managed to contain its losses in the first year of the pandemic to just $2.4m – largely thanks to patrons donating about $3m to the company by opting to forgo ticket refunds for the 2020 season.
By the time the lockdowns ended in 2021, the company had drawn down $8.5m from its reserves and a commercial loan facility.
Another Australian Ballet employee told Guardian Australia they feel let down by management after the dancers made financial sacrifices during Covid.
“There is a real sense of pride in [the dancers’] work, and they have such a deep admiration for the company and for this career,” he said.
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“The dancers are very aware and considerate of the company’s financial position, but they don’t believe that what they’re asking for is an exorbitant request. Financial security is important.”
The Australian Ballet is scheduled to open a new program Arts Centre Melbourne on 16 June. In August the company will tour to the Royal Opera House in London, as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations.
Twomey said the company had held a series of good faith bargaining meetings over the past nine months. Agreements had been reached in areas including performance scheduling, time and fatigue management, and live streaming royalty arrangements for dancers.
“Over the course of previous enterprise agreements our dancers often received wage rises in excess of CPI increases,” Twomey said.
“With the expiration of the most recent agreement, we are seeking to ensure there is greater certainty for all parties moving forward, particularly in the context of our underlying financial position post-Covid, the closure of our home theatre and the financial uncertainty ahead.”
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The MEAA’s equity director, Michelle Rae, said 91% of AB dancers voted in favour of a recent protected action ballot overseen by the Fair Work Commission.
“This [CPI] lifeline in the agreement has been particularly important given the current cost of living crisis and financial sacrifices dancers made to support the company during the Covid pandemic in 2020-21,” Rae said in a statement, adding the union had collected “a staggering number of stories” from dancers that painted a “bleak picture” of their financial wellbeing.
“Management still refuses to provide workable solutions.”
Protected industrial action was an absolute last resort, she said.
