British Exotic Dancers Join Union

November 22, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Seventeen Bristol, England exotic dancers have joined the General Municipal and Boilermakers' Union (GMB) in an effort to see working conditions in the industry improved.

Dancers at Club Crème, Bristol’s first full-nude bar, have joined the GMB after hearing about a sex workers’ branch for dancers in London, according to a BBC report.   The dancers, which do not have contact with customers, were concerned about their safety since some clubs allow dances in private booths without security.  

The GMB started the sex workers’ branch because of a lack of representation and the susceptibility of exploitation in the dancers’ line of work.   “We have had significant rises in recruitment in the sex industry recently”, said Dan Hodges, speaking for the GMB.  

“All we want to do is safeguard their security and get rid of the private booths in these clubs, where there is no security.”

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