English National Opera musicians and singers to go on strike

The English National Opera's musicians and singers have voted to go on strike in protest at a plan to cut jobs.

Members of the company's orchestra, chorus and music staff will walk out on 1 February, the opening night of its latest run of The Handmaid's Tale.

The Musicians Union and Equity said plans to axe 19 orchestra posts and make other staff members part time would threaten musicians' livelihoods.

The ENO said the dispute "could be best resolved around the negotiation table".

This will be the first time that Musicians Union members have taken full strike action for 44 years.

The union's general secretary Naomi Pohl said the vote was "a sign of extremely difficult times for the orchestral sector and opera and ballet in particular".

Arts union Equity's general secretary Paul Fleming said: "The heart of this dispute is about who opera in this country is for: should there be stable, accessible jobs for people from every background, or precarious jobs limited to the few."

In its statement, the ENO added that while it "respects trade union members' right to industrial action as part of our ongoing negotiations", it was "disappointed that it means audiences will miss out on an opportunity to experience the work and talent of the entire ENO company".

The ENO said it remained "committed to continuing our conversations with the Unions in good faith as we work towards a sustainable future, within the context of our funding agreement reached with Arts Council England in July 2023".

The ballots were conducted after ENO management announced plans to make all of the chorus, orchestra and music staff redundant and re-employ them for six months of the year.

For some musicians in the orchestra, the proposal is to reduce their contracts even further with some being offered ad-hoc freelance work only.

Last year, the ENO's music director Martyn Brabbins resigned following the announcement of the cuts.

The proposals were made after the ENO was removed from Arts Council England's annual funding portfolio, losing its £12.8m grant, and told it must move outside London in order to qualify for future grants.

In December it announced plans to move to Manchester, but the relocation has been met by opposition from the company and many in the cultural world.

The ENO has been given extra time and money to facilitate the move, but there is still uncertainty over how it will function.

Among MU members at the ENO, there was a 92% turnout for the ballot, and 93% voted for full strike action.

Equity said turnout among ENO chorus members was 94%, and all of them voted for full strike action.