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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/08/english-national-opera-choristers-strike-vote
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| English National Opera singers to vote on strike action | English National Opera singers to vote on strike action |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 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. | 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. |
| Equity said ENO management wanted to renegotiate contracts which would result in the the 44-member chorus getting a 25% pay cut. With the removal of other add-ons, such as overtime and Sunday working, it could be up to 39%, the union organiser, Hilary Hadley, said. | |
| The proposals amounted to “cultural vandalism” that threatened the opera company’s artistic future, she said. | |
| 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 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 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. | 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. |
| The choristers sang a Pirates of Penzance song at a news conference in London announcing the vote. | The choristers sang a Pirates of Penzance song at a news conference in London announcing the vote. |
| Public funding of the ENO was cut by £5m last year and it has argued that it must cut its cloth accordingly. | Public funding of the ENO was cut by £5m last year and it has argued that it must cut its cloth accordingly. |