FADO IN BLACK, THE DARK SIDE OF FADO: wages & working conditions

FADO IN BLACK, THE DARK SIDE OF FADO: wages & working conditions by Geoff Holloway, 2022 This is a complex area, but I will try to be as precise and accurate as possible. There are two main sections to this report, wages and working conditions, but they overlap and are inter-related. Working conditions also includes a sub-section on sexual harassment. 1) Wages The typical gross payment for a Fadista for a night’s performance is between 30€ and 40€ - but that does not take into account tax. While probably 90% of Fadistas do not pay tax at least one Fado restaurant takes out tax before paying the Fadista. Of course, famous Fadistas will be paid much more. Instrumentalists typically receive more than Fadistas, about 50€ per night (as they play for all Fadistas who happen to appear that night). In some places Fadistas and instrumentalists have ‘formal’ contracts and earn about 65€ per night – which indicates that there some variation in wages. Note, using the word ‘contract’ is legally ambiguous where it exists. These payments/wages need to take into account the mean or median income in Portugal. According to the National Statistics Bureau (INE), in 2020 the average gross monthly salary in Portugal was 1,314€, which comes to 18,396€ per year, including Christmas and holiday bonuses – as compared with, say, a Fadista’s monthly income for working, say, 5 days per week1 of 800€ (they do not get Christmas and holiday bonuses or sick leave). The national minimum wage in Portugal in 2022 is 822€ per month2 – so Fadistas get less than the national minimum wage. Is this fraud? Some fado restaurants charge for ‘entertainment’, varying between 5€ and 15€ per person. In one particular case a restaurant with a capacity of 200 people charges 15€ per customer (equals 3000€ for a night). So, who gets this money? – not the Fadistas or the musicians that is for sure! Normally a Fadista will supplement their wages with sales of CDs (usually 15€ each) – but one place I went to charges Fadistas a commission for any such sales. As far as I can determine nowhere else in Lisboa charges such a commission, so this is an isolated example. On a good night a Fadista could sell 8-10 CDs, but normally sales are far fewer than that (and not all Fadistas have CDs as the consensus on the minimum cost of producing a CD is 5000€ - and can be double that for a very professional production; then there are the promotional videos to promote the CD – average YouTube video takes at least 30 hours work). While Fadistas normally receive a light meal at which ever restaurant they are appearing. However, this hardly compensates for only being given a day or a few hours’ request to appear, which occurs frequently. A few Fadistas have informal ‘contracts’ that assure them of regular appearances, but most places do not know from one month to the next who they will have appearing, or from one week to the next. One of the reasons Fado restaurants can do this is that there are so many Fadistas – my estimate is about 200 in Lisboa (definitions aside), but I have seen one unsubstantiated estimate of 500. There are two other ways that Fadistas can supplement their regular income – by appearing in private events (such as weddings) or from the international circuit, which is usually within Europe and the USA, but a few travel to Asia. There are several Fado places of the same owner that forbid fado singers and instrumentalists to perform in other Fado places – so multiple appearances is not always an option. 1 In summation, the Fadista’s life is economically (and therefore emotionally) uncertain – it is hard to make a fulltime career out of Fado. Having an additional job or income is the general rule. A few fadistas are owner/managers of their own restaurants; they are not included in the above summary for obvious reasons. The extreme form of ‘employment’ involves fado vadios. A fado vadio literally translates as bohemian, vagabond or loafer fadista. In other words, free loaders, who sing without payment or maybe get a small meal. There are at least three Fado places that use fado vadios (note that I use lower-case rather than capitals when describing them). Fado vadios are mainly amateurs who cannot get paid work within the main Fado sector. 2) Working conditions In any industry where there is work insecurity/uncertainty the ‘information gap’ is usually filled with gossip and intense, but covert, competition. In the case of Fado, this is reinforced by informal ‘contracts’ and a high number of Fadistas from whom employers can choose at a whim. This can also lead to the most negative consequences in some cases, such as sexual harassment – this is despite there being a national Codigo de Trabalho. However, as far as I know, there has never been a prosecution of a sexual harassment case involving the Fado industry. Sexual harassment – As with domestic violence it is difficult to assess the incidence and prevalence of sexual harassment. In my article on domestic violence in Portugal I used femicide as an indicator because the data is available and accurate3. The only data that relates in a similar way to sexual harassment could be sexual assault data to some extent. As with femicide, such data is only the tip of the unreported iceberg. In such a case, sexual assaults have increased by 25% over the past two years of available data4. There may be more awareness of sexual harassment today than, say, thirty years ago – for example, Whilst in 1989, 49% of women reported that they pretended not to notice the harassment, in 2015, this figure fell to 23%.5 Another example, which fits well with Senhor Sleaze6 – “When I was working in the restaurant, the boss was always making comments about my body, and making invitations that weren't at all normal… We could meet, we could go out, your life could be better, think about it, when shall we go here and when shall we go there, and the woman, who was his wife, didn't have to know...” “I told him to shut up or I'd tell his wife... but I never actually did, I never said a word... I was afraid no one would believe me, I went as far as saying "be careful", but it was no good.” (Anabela Ferreira, 43 years old)7 The above and the following is based on academic research, principally by the University of Coimbra. However, I have seen repeated incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace in the case of Fado, with one particular manager of a Fado place harassing a Fadista. I was astonished to see his repeated behaviour – I did not intervene, much as I would have liked to. As mentioned above, I will refer to him henceforth as Senhor Sleaze. From what I have been told, sexual harassment is common in the Fado industry - but this does not mean that it is widespread across Fado establishments. Sexual harassment occurs despite there being a legal Codigo of Trabalho that prohibits such behaviour. 2 Sexual harassment comes from not only owners/managers of Fado restaurants but also by other Fado performers and musicians and probably a few customers. While there is no data on the incidence or prevalence of such behaviour, there is clear evidence that the circumstances/structures/characteristics of Fado establishments facilitate or are conducive to such behaviour within Fado more than other occupations 8 . Sexual harassment cannot be addressed by simply looking at data on, say, reports and convictions (there are none on the latter), but by looking at the conditions associated with, or facilitate, harassment. Apart from uncertainty/insecurity in employment, as covered in the Wages section of this article, as taken from the Coimbra University report referred to earlier, certain employment conditions and organisational structures facilitate or are conducive for sexual harassment. A few of the key conditions include: (1) small size (employment) within such establishments (page 104 of Coimbra report); (2) the hierarchical nature of such small establishments but also issues with co-workers (page 109); (3) ‘gender-specific regimes’ (page 107); and societal cultural attitudes/values that celebrate masculinity (pages 107). (1) smaller establishments are conducive to sexual harassment Generally, in small organisations (9 workers or less) male and female respondents most frequently reported situations of unwelcome sexual advances (52%). This could be related to lack of training in workers’ rights, especially as such rights are dependent on the managers facilitating such training.9 (2) the hierarchical nature of such small establishments One of the key factors (as found in Fado establishments) in heightening harassment, which leaves male and females workers more vulnerable is that they are dependent on their hierarchical superiors and managers, who are the most frequent perpetrators of sexual harassment, as shown by our research findings. This creates a vicious circles based on power relations - in an occupational setting - which extends to the power to prevent or discourage, indirectly, the targets of sexual harassment from claiming their rights. In Portuguese society, work is a source of income and of personal satisfaction and self-realisation. Employment contracts which create situations of dependency and subordinate the rights of workers need careful reconsideration.10 (2) Gender-specific regimes: The gender regimes are produced where two fundamental forces intersect and reinforce each other: the hierarchical lines along which work is organised, and the gender ideology, or the wider established gender order, which defines what a male worker or a female worker should be and which restrict the place of one or the other in society and the world of work. In essence, these are two mechanisms that produce and reinforce an unequal distribution of resources and powers between people.11 Most women and men who experience sexual harassment are employed on a very unstable/uncertain basis, where there is lack of job security, as well as greater vulnerability and dependency on the organisation/workplace.12 Why does this behaviour happen? It has been suggested to me that such behaviour is reflection of machismo which permeates Portuguese society. In line with this, the following quote is revealing – When asked to rationalise the situation of sexual harassment, the respondents present distinct rationalisations. Disrespect is the most frequent response from women (58.1%), compared to 3 only 37.5% of men who interpret what happens to them by referring to a lack of respect.13 It is interesting to note that more than 30% of men (31.3%) say they are unable to explain the harassment and approximately 8% (8.3%) identify the situation of sexual harassment as bad luck. Proportionally less women than men (8.9%) said they were unable to explain what happened and only 0.6% of women explained it by calling it bad luck.14 Despite being recognised as a practice existing within (such) organisations, the issue of sexual harassment is often silenced. The victims of sexual harassment not infrequently display attitudes of shame, as well as ignorance of the legislation and procedures, or even fear of reprisals or losing their jobs (Hearn and Parkin, 2001).15 One of the difficulties of reporting on sexual harassment is the inherent resistance within the general community to accept that it occurs. One very public example of this has been reported in The Unimaginable Rapist and the Backlash Against MeToo in Portugal 16. To what extent this was due to the ‘hegemonic construction’ of masculinity as central to the culture and the selfreinforcing institutions of Portugal is beyond the scope of this article here17. I have also referred to the resistance to discuss feminism in a previous article on femicide18. (3) Conclusions One seemingly unrelated comment that I will make, as I have done so in a previous publication19, is that most Fadistas are very self-critical of their performances – which is an indication of their professionalism. However, the same cannot be said for all owners/managers of Fado establishments. This is apparent when, for some, the primary orientation is towards making a profit from the restaurant side of the business not the Fado. This is despite the fact that they are inter-dependent (as argued in my previous publication on Liminality, Fado & Tourism20). The economic vulnerability of Fadistas may be due to there being so many of them – so Fado establishments can pick and choose at a moment’s notice. Also, the small and somewhat personal aspect of these establishments increases their vulnerability, not to mention risk of undesired sexual harassment. The inter-Fado harassment is another matter but relates to the closed, intimate and competitive environment of the Fado community. This is not to suggest that sexual harassment is widespread; it could simply be a reflection of such attitudes and behaviours across society generally. However, establishing the prevalence of this within the Fado sector is very difficult to ascertain, mainly because people do not want to disclose or report such behaviour for fear of losing their jobs. The below-minimum national wages issue is another matter, and may be a reflection of economic reality for all but the most successful musicians across any sector of the musical world. Most Fadistas sing and perform because it is a ‘calling’, a conviction or love for what they do, an expression of their creative identity and a strong desire to share the poetry of Fado – and this orientation/commitment, again, leads them open to exploitation. Acknowledgements: I wish to thank all the Fadistas who have commented and contributed to this article, but they remain anonymous for obvious reasons. Some Fadistas work 7 days per week. https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2022-01-31/portugal-among-the-lowest-wages/64938: It should be noted that the minimum wage set in Portugal for 2022 is €705 euros, but paid in 14 months - with the addition of holiday and Christmas allowances -, with Eurostat dividing the total amount by 12 months, raising the value to €823. 3 Holloway, Geoff, https://www.academia.edu/45089124/Why_is_the_femicide_rate_ in_Portugal_ double_that_of_Spain_N%C3%A3o_fale_sobre_isso_fora_de_casa_ 1 2 4 https://www.expatica.com/pt/news/sexual-crimes-in-portugal-increased-25-in-two-years-103747/ https://cite.gov.pt/documents/14333/179815/Sexual_Harassment_and_ Bullying_in_the_Workplace_in_Portugal.pdf - page 118 6 I refer to him as Senhor Sleaze – in Portuguese, someone who ‘assediou sexualmente’; also, possibly ‘sacana’ 7 Ibid. 8 https://cite.gov.pt/documents/14333/179815/Sexual_Harassment_and_ Bullying_in_the_Workplace_in_Portugal.pd 9 Ibid. page 104 10 Ibid, page 108 11 Ibid. page 107 12 Ibid. page 106 13 Ibid. page 118 14 Ibid. page 119 15 Ibid. page 122 16 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343821848_The_Unimaginable_ Rapist_and_the_Backlash_Against_MeToo_in_Portugal 17 Ibid. page 7 18 Holloway, Geoff, op. cit. 19 https://www.academia.edu/41572269/Liminality_Fado_and_Tourism 20 Ibid. 4 5 5