Key among the group\u2019s demands was that the industry abandon its current pay structure and offer workers a salary. Organizers called on strip clubs to abolish the \u201cbar service fee,\u201d<\/a> which strippers pay to access clubs, and argued that an hourly pay would allow access to protections such as paid leave following workplace injuries.<\/p>\n While many backed the strike, the weekend action also revealed something of a rift in Montreal\u2019s sex work community as its members debated how they wanted to be paid.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had to report to somebody about hours or if I had to go through screening processes (to be hired)\u2026 that\u2019s exactly why I was struggling in the first place,\u201d Sam said. \u201cI was so sick and could not work a normal job.\u201d<\/p>\n Nina, whose name has also been changed, said many were \u201cconcerned\u201d to see CATS \u201cspeaking in our names.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe did not feel like we had given them this mission,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Nina, also a stripper, and Sam joined Pleasers on the Ground, a group formed to oppose the strike and its call to switch to a salary-based pay model.<\/p>\n The group argues the current model allows workers to control their hours and avoid clients they don\u2019t want to interact with. They also say it allows marginalized people \u2014 including trans people and immigrants whose legal status doesn\u2019t allow them to work \u2014 access to an income.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving an official status and being recognized by the government as a sex worker, I find that very dangerous,\u201d said Sarah (not her real name), who also works as a stripper.<\/p>\n If workers earned a salary, \u201cI have a feeling that we\u2019d make less money,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a dying industry. I don\u2019t see how bosses would be able to pay salaries without taking a cut of the money we make during dances.\u201d<\/p>\n But Monica, a CATS member who supported the strike, said the current pay model forces her to work without pay.<\/p>\n Monica, who works at a massage parlour and whose name has also been changed, said her boss requires her to clean the establishment when she isn\u2019t with clients.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not paid during that period,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Instead, she said she\u2019s paid for massages at a rate set by her boss, who keeps 35 per cent of whatever she earns.<\/p>\n Paying an hourly wage would recognize the reality of her work, she said, arguing that her working conditions don\u2019t resemble those of a self-employed person.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving a salary would increase protections,\u201d she said, including by offering paid leave.<\/p>\n Francine Tremblay, a Concordia University lecturer who studies the sex industry and worked as a stripper until 1988, initially supported the strike. But in an interview Monday, she had changed her mind, suggesting that CATS hadn\u2019t sought consensus from the people it represents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a kneejerk reaction\u201d to support the strike, she said.<\/p>\n But Tremblay maintained that she benefited from the salary she earned when she was a stripper. At the time, Montreal strip clubs paid hourly wages, she said.<\/p>\n The salary allowed her financial security, as well as workers\u2019 benefits that now pay for the hearing aids she needs after working almost two decades in noisy venues.<\/p>\n Without \u201csome sort of legal status, what would you do after, when you leave the industry?\u201d<\/p>\n While she said she agreed with CATS that sex workers should earn a salary, Tremblay said she understood why some didn\u2019t agree. <\/p>\n \u201cI totally understand that some (workers) want to remain invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n Both camps support decriminalization<\/p>\n While sex workers debate their pay model, both camps want to see sex work decriminalized.<\/p>\n Under the federal criminal code, sex workers aren\u2019t criminalized for exchanging sex for pay. But their clients, as well as anyone who facilitates their work, are criminalized.<\/p>\n As a result, many operate in a grey zone, with their clients allowed to pay for services including lap dances but considered criminals if caught paying for sexual services.<\/p>\n \u201cNinety-five per cent of (clients) are really fine, I\u2019ve never had any trouble with them,\u201d Monica said. \u201cBut some of them can be dangerous, like any other job.\u201d<\/p>\n The criminality surrounding the sex industry means clients don\u2019t disclose their names, she said. If something goes wrong, even banning them from returning to the massage parlour can be difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cMy clients are very nervous to share personal information,\u201d Sarah said, which she said can put her in danger.<\/p>\n \u201cThe demand of a majority of sex workers is decriminalization.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gazette attempted to contact the owners of several Montreal strip clubs, but did not receive responses.<\/p>\n
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