Welsh National Opera Musicians Vote for Industrial Action Over Pay Dispute

The decision follows WNO management’s proposal to reduce musicians’ pay and make the opera orchestra part time

As announced with the Musicians’ Union (MU), members of the orchestra of the Welsh National Opera (WNO) will vote for industrial action over their management’s proposals to reduce the orchestra to part-time and cut musicians’ pay by 15%.

Beginning on June 26, 2024, the three-week ballot period is being supported by members of the Senedd and Wales TUC, reads the press release. The WNO orchestra has been campaigning ahead of recent WNO performances and over 10,700 people have signed the WNO orchestra’s petition to protect their jobs.

The petition calls on WNO management, Arts Council of Wales (ACW), and Arts Council England (ACE) to keep WNO as a full-time company, stop the proposed 15% pay cut, and agree to a sustainable funding package to secure WNO’s future, including touring.

Cuts in funding from the ACW and ACE have “forced” WNO’s management to consider the changes, MU explains, and that touring will also have to be reduced, “which risks leaving towns and cities such as Llandudno and Bristol without the high-quality opera provision they deserve.”

“These proposed cuts would be hugely damaging for our members and professional music in Wales and South West England,” said MU’s Acting Regional Organiser for Wales and South West England Ruth Ballantyne in nation.cymru. “The WNO Orchestra is one of only two full time professional orchestras in Wales. Reducing that provision would have a negative effect on the WNO’s artistic standards, Cardiff’s status as a hub for professional music, and cultural provision across Wales and large parts of England.”

“This is a critical time for Welsh National Opera as it faces funding cuts from Arts Council England and the Arts Council of Wales,” added MU’s general secretary Naomi Pohl. “We are also deeply concerned about diminishing opera provision across the UK. This will hit hardest in areas that already have less arts and music provision, and hugely reduce opportunities for musicians to earn a living. 

“We are determined to support our members in challenging plans for unsustainable pay cuts for our members and changes that could cause major damage to arts and music in Wales,” Pohl continued. “Meanwhile we will be taking the issue up with the Government, supportive MPs and the Arts Councils. With a general election on the horizon, it is a pivotal moment in time to make our case for the cultural investment so desperately needed for our arts institutions.”

“If the orchestra is forced to go part-time this will be hugely damaging to WNO’s orchestra members and their loyal pool of freelancers and will have a wider knock-on effect on the industry,” added Jo Laverty, MU’s National Organiser for Orchestras. “If proposed cuts go ahead, there will only be two full-time employed opera orchestras (Opera North and the Orchestra of the Royal Ballet and Opera) left in the whole of the UK; with the stability and benefits of year-round employment and year-round opportunities for engagement of freelancers. It diminishes opportunities in the profession, it diminishes opportunities for skilled orchestral musicians in Wales, and the future of the profession for Wales’s aspiring young musicians.”