Equity members in the chorus of the Welsh National Opera will pause their first and second days of strike action, previously planned for Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 September. This follows productive discussions with WNO management over the past week. Action short of strike will still be taken by chorus members on the opening night of Rigoletto and throughout the season as originally planned.
A deal has not yet been reached and despite pausing strike action at this time the chorus continue to be concerned about the implications and any implementation of management’s current proposals. The pause will allow time for further talks to take place with the hope of reaching an agreement with WNO management which addresses core concerns over job losses, pay cuts and compulsory redundancies. Chorus members were consulted on Tuesday on progress in talks and voted overnight on whether to pause strike action, with an overwhelming majority voting in favour of the pause. For now the third date in the planned strike action on the 11th October is still in place.
Action short of strike will still go ahead, coinciding with the opening night of Rigoletto on Saturday 21 September. This will include members of the chorus leafleting the public outside the Wales Millennium Centre – where the production is taking place – and other actions. Photos of this action will be made available after the event.
The chorus will be joined in action short of strike by members of the WNO’s orchestra, represented by the Musicians’ Union. In July, the orchestra also voted overwhelmingly in favour of potential strike action over similar cuts and proposals from management.
In addition, we are asking to meet with the Board of Directors, which oversees the WNO’s affairs. Over 1,200 people have already signed an open letter to Yvette Vaughan Jones, the Chair of the Board, calling on her to intervene with WNO management to save jobs in the company’s chorus. The Board has a scheduled meeting next week on Wednesday 25 September.
Simon Curtis, Equity Wales Official, says: “We’re encouraged by recent positive engagement from WNO management, which is why our members made the decision to pause strike action. However, we are not out of the woods yet and an agreement ensuring the jobs and livelihoods of the chorus has not been reached. Our desire throughout this process has been to work with the Board and Management, and we hope to continue in constructive discussions with management in the coming weeks. In addition, we call on the WNO’s Board to meet with us so they can better understand the circumstances of our members and the impact of the proposals that they support being put in place. Meanwhile, the concerns of the chorus will continue to be heard through action short of strike, and the strike mandate remains live – meaning full strike action is still possible and will go ahead as planned on the 11th October if sufficient progress is not made.”
Earlier this month, 93% of the chorus voted for industrial action over the proposed changes, including action short of strike. All of the 30-strong WNO chorus singers are Equity members and 100% took part in the ballot.
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