Actors of discontinued e-TV telenova, Nikiwe, are fuming over the fact that they were paid R400 each as December salaries. According to actors they are owed hundreds of thousands of Rands in unpaid salaries, which has left many of them in dire financial situations. So dire was the situation that some of the actors had nothing to celebrate over Christmas as they struggled to put food on the table.The actors received a message from the telenovela’s production management Parental Advisory Productions, co-owned by Thomas Gumede and Lungelo Radu, informing them that they would not get their December salaries. The letter seen by ZiMoja read,”Good day everyone, this is an update on the situation we are facing and the plan. Unfortunately, the dispute with the channel is proving to be a losing battle. With all the rewrites and reshoots at their request, we find this extremely hard to believe. We have been left in huge amounts of debt with absolutely no notice. During the course of this week, we secured a small business loan and are using those funds to spread it amongst everyone. It is nowhere near what you should be paid, but we cannot sit back and fold our arms whilst people are burning. Please understand that we are just as thrown off as you all and this is the best we can do.”
ACTORS NOT BACKING DOWN
The actors are now pursuing legal action against the production company as many of them feel betrayed. The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that the company in question has been unresponsive to their complaints, leaving many of the actors feeling powerless. “We rejected that, what do I do with 400 from a salary of over R20k,” asked one source “We have expressed our frustration over the situation and no one is listening. We are left with no choice but to take legal action. We are so disappointed over the fact that the company had failed to communicate with us, leaving us in the dark about the situation,” said one leading actor who did not want to be named. The actors have vowed to continue pursuing legal action until they receive the full amount that they are owed. The situation has also sparked a wider conversation about the precarious nature of the entertainment industry, with many actors and industry professionals calling for greater protection and support for those working in the industry. “We need unions to intervene in such situations,” adds one actor. e-TV PR manager, Thapelo Ramatsui, said the channel terminated the contract based on poor performance of the show and that the production company was paid. “We don’t owe anyone anything from our side,’ At the time of publishing, the production had not commented.
