Title : 'I feel like a slave': Acrobats claim they were underpaid by popular circus
link : 'I feel like a slave': Acrobats claim they were underpaid by popular circus
'I feel like a slave': Acrobats claim they were underpaid by popular circus
Two former acrobats allege they were underpaid and overworked by the Australian-based Cirque Africa, with one performer claiming he could not afford to eat.
Another performer claims that when he asked for his money the directors threatened to tell his wife he had affairs with other women while on the road.
Cirque Africa was the highest selling show at last year's Adelaide Fringe Festival, has performed across the country and is currently entertaining families at the Werribee Zoo in Melbourne.
It was founded by Zimbabwean man Winston Ruddle, who calls himself "Papa Africa, the father of African circus".
Two performers claim they were not always paid their weekly wage of $600 on time, and when they were finally paid, at times, it was a fraction of what they were owed.
The circus strongly denies the claims made by the two former performers.
$240,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements claimed
Acrobat Hilaly Maiko alleges he was fired in November for demanding his unpaid wages and that he was paid below the award wage for live performers.
He is taking legal action against Cirque Africa in the Federal Circuit Court claiming it breached the Fair Work Act.
He is seeking almost $240,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements and a further $180,000 in damages relating to his dismissal.
Cirque Africa disputes many of Hilaly Maiko's allegations, saying in its legal defence he was a part-time employee who wasn't fired, rather his contract had expired.
But the circus also admits in its defence, "They were unaware of the existence of the Live Performance Award 2010", and were, "unaware that the award, or any other award made under Part 2-3 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), covered the applicant's employment".
Despite this, the circus said it satisfied its legal obligations and did not owe Mr Maiko any outstanding wages and entitlements.
'We have no money'
Mr Maiko was living in Tanzania when he was recruited three years ago to join the circus in Australia.
"Things went OK for the first two weeks. After that all the problems start from there," Mr Maiko told 7.30.
"They don't pay on time, when you get paid you get less money.
"When you ask Winston [Ruddle] for the money he just get cross and it brings fighting."
Mr Maiko said he sometimes could not afford to eat.
"Even money for food, we just asking and he says, 'No, you guys, you don't understand,' something like that. 'We have no money'," he said.
"He said, 'We are going to be shut down'."
Cirque Africa directors, Mr Ruddle and Lindani Berman, declined to be interviewed in response to the allegations made by the two performers.
"I spoke to my lawyers and I'm not doing an interview," Mr Berman said during a brief phone conversation with the 7.30 program.
"[The allegations made by Mr Maiko are] not true and that's why the case is being fought in court. So I'm not going to talk to you guys."
Message claiming Amani was 'sleeping with prostitutes'
Another acrobat, Amani Ntabaye, said he had to do multiple performances then stay up all night pulling down the circus tent.
"I feel like a slave because you don't pay me on time, you force me to do the job," ," Mr Ntabaye told 7.30.
"I need to rest. You finish the show, straight away you put down the tent."
Mr Ntabaye left the circus last year and said he was still owed thousands of dollars for cancelled performances — something Cirque Africa told him he was not entitled to.
"Amani was owed $7,000, he was paid $4,000, and obviously is still owed $3,000," Amani's wife, Naomi Manning said.
"That is the bare minimum. That does not include the set-up or pack-up of any tents. There's no overtime included in that. They weren't paid for promotions. He was never paid to do the cleaning of the tent."
When Mr Ntabaye wrote to Cirque Africa asking for the money, he and his wife allege the directors threatened him.
Ms Manning said they were sent a message by Mr Berman.
"We've received a message via Messenger from Lindani, pretty much threatening us with lawyers and stating Amani was sleeping with prostitutes while in Adelaide. He was threatening to tell me," she said.
"[It was] clearly untrue, but threatening our relationship and probably hoping I would send Amani home."
Liquidators called in
The circus was placed into liquidation in January after losing almost $1.4 million in the past three financial years. But Cirque Africa is still performing and is currently at Werribee Zoo in Melbourne.
The circus is operating under a new business name, L and W Entertainment Productions, with the same directors from the failed business, Mr Berman and Mr Ruddle.
In a report to creditors in April, liquidator Steven Naidenov from Veritas Advisory wrote he believed the directors may have broken corporate law by trading while insolvent from at least June 30, 2015 and making unfair preferential payments.
Part of Hilaly Maiko's legal claim details threats allegedly made by Cirque Africa's Winston Ruddle to close the circus down if performers asked for their outstanding pay.
"He did say definitely, on a number of occasions, that he was going to shut the company down if anybody continued to ask for their payments and backpay and things like that," Mr Maiko's partner, Claire Terry, said.
"Things like, 'If you don't know what that means look up this meaning, you won't get any money, you'll be stuck in this country with no money'.
"That's exactly what's happened."
7.30 submitted a list of allegations made by the two performers and the liquidator to Cirque Africa but it was yet to respond.
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