‘Muvhango’ Drama Extends Beyond The Screen As Cast Protests Over Salary Dispute
The cast members of the popular SABC2 drama series Muvhango reportedly walked out of a production meeting in April.
Their protest was sparked by a disagreement with the show’s producers over their salaries.
The financial situation behind the scenes of the beloved Tshivenda drama series seems to be an ongoing struggle.
According to Sunday World, this time, the actors are said to be particularly upset because they were informed that they would not be paid their salaries later in the year.
According to a source with inside knowledge of the production, the producers of Muvhango were taken aback when disgruntled actors and crew members stormed out of a meeting in April.
The meeting was held at the show’s SABC studios and was intended to convey to the staff that they would have to be frugal because their salaries would not be paid in October.
This was due to the soapie negotiating a contract renewal with the public broadcaster.
The source said:
“They have actors who are on permanent contracts with the soapie and get paid monthly salaries. These are actors like Muamela [Susan], Gabriel [Azwindini] and Dingaan [James].
“They get paid every month, even when we are on production break, so they have things they pay for like cars, houses, and school fees. So, when they were told that they won’t get salaries for October, they were not having it.”
The source further stated that the actors felt caught off guard by this news as they had been informed earlier that their contracts would only expire in October and that they would be paid for that month.
“Now the new contracts that they [producers] want actors to sign state that their contracts will end in September instead, and that they will not be paid for October, which was not the case previously. So, they are refusing to sign the new adjusted agreements,” said the mole.
Another actor, who preferred to remain anonymous, expressed that they and their colleagues were hoping for a commitment from Duma Ka Ndlovu, the executive producer and founder of Word of Mouth Pictures, the production house behind Muvhango.
Specifically, they wanted Ka Ndlovu to promise that they would receive payment for October and that he would then recoup the funds from the SABC, as other production companies are reportedly doing.
“We are the only ones affected by this, others at Skeem Saam and Generations: The Legacy never have issues when it comes to contract renewals.
“They [Muvhango producers] don’t want to take any responsibility for payments in case the negotiations with SABC do not cover actors’ pay for the month,” said the actor.
This is not the first time that Muvhango has been embroiled in salary payment controversies. In January, the show was also involved in a similar dispute.
The publication reached out to Muvhango’s spokesperson, Thanduxolo Jindela, for comment via email but had not received a response at the time of publishing.