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English National Opera singers to vote on strike action English National Opera singers to vote on strike action
(35 minutes later)
Chorus members at the English National Opera are to be balloted for industrial action in a dispute over jobs and pay. Choristers at the English National Opera are to be balloted for industrial action after being threatened with redundancies and what their union called an unsustainable pay cut.
Members of Equity will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of action. Equity said ENO management wanted to renegotiate contracts which would result in the the 44-strong chorus getting a 25% pay cut. With the removal of other add-ons, such as overtime and Sunday working, it could be as much as 39%, the union organiser Hilary Hadley said.
The union said the 44 singers were facing a 25% pay cut and the loss of four jobs. The proposals amounted to “cultural vandalism” which threatened the opera company’s artistic future, she said.
Equity warned the cuts could push the world-renowned ENO into “terminal decline”. The union said it feared bigger pay cuts in future if the current proposals went ahead. As well as the pay cut, ENO wants to make four choristers redundant.
The choristers attended a news conference in London, and sang a Pirates Of Penzance song to demonstrate their quality. The vote in the coming weeks will be over whether to hold strikes and/or other forms of industrial action, with Equity saying it was ruling nothing out. Productions could be halted by any action.
Equity said it feared bigger pay cuts if the proposals go ahead. As well as the pay cuts and job losses, managers were also planning to increase hours, remove payment for Sunday working and stop overtime pay, said Equity. The choristers sang a Pirates of Penzance song at a news conference in London announcing the vote.
The ballot will be for strikes and other forms of industrial action and Equity said it was ruling nothing out. Productions could be halted by any action. Public funding of the ENO was cut by £5m last year and it has argued that it must cut its cloth accordingly.
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