Welsh National Opera Orchestra Musicians Reach Agreement With Management

After a year of industrial action, the musicians have voted by an overwhelming majority to accept a new deal from its management

Musicians of the Welsh National Opera (WNO) orchestra have voted to accept a new agreement by an overwhelming majority of 97%. This news comes following a year of negotiations and industrial action. 

The agreement means the orchestra will no longer be moved to part-time — a proposal initially made by its management, which cited financial difficulties as the cause. Additionally, the management’s former plan for a 15% pay cut to the orchestra has also been avoided. 

The new agreement protects members’ jobs, after the orchestra lost around ten posts since 2020 and faced major cuts to its public funding. 

In response, union members had also been campaigning for Arts Council of Wales (ACW) and Arts Council England (ACE) to agree on a sustainable funding package to account for a full-time and full-size orchestra for Wales and its future in touring. 

Recently, their efforts have prompted the Welsh Government to provide an additional £1.5 million in funding to support arts organisations in Wales.

“This result gives some much needed assurances for the orchestral players currently in post,” said MU and player committee member Llinos Owen. “Whilst this marks the end of our industrial action, we are acutely aware that there have been job losses for many of our friends and colleagues across the company, and that the chorus are currently facing compulsory redundancies.

“Our new contract enables us as an orchestra to be more firmly embedded in the communities in which we work,” Owen added, “and as we put this period of industrial action behind us, we can now work together with our new passionate and innovative General Directors to campaign positively for more sustainable funding for WNO, the opera sector and the Arts in general, so that we can continue to have secure employment, performing world class work across Wales, England, and internationally.”

“WNO’s new leadership in Adele Thomas and Sarah Crabtree is more collaborative and positive than the MU have ever known it,” said MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl. “The MU is reassured that they are fighting to retain a full-time performing company in spite of the current funding issues. However, we know we are not out of the woods yet. This is an incredibly difficult time for the arts in the UK and the opera sector has been especially hard hit, with WNO disproportionately affected and facing significant ongoing financial challenges. We must continue to stand with WNO to campaign for the future integrity of a full-time, full-strength company.”

“This has been an incredibly challenging year for the whole company, and it continues to be, despite this outcome,” expressed MU National Organiser for Orchestras Jo Laverty. “We are aware that there are challenges still to come but what we have achieved here is some stability for the orchestra over the coming year, a better agreement and a constructive working relationship with WNO management which we have faith will continue.”