Welsh National Opera musicians accept jobs deal

Musicians at the Welsh National Opera orchestra have accepted a new agreement following a year of negotiations and industrial action.

The WNO announced last year it was cutting back its spring tour in 2025 along with other measures due to “increasing financial challenges”.

Among those supporting a campaign calling for something to be done included a host of Wales’ most famous artists such as Michael Sheen, Katherine Jenkins, Ruth Jones and Sir Bryn Terfel.

While the new agreement protects members’ jobs, unions said the orchestra would lose approximately 10 vacant seats, so the campaign to protect jobs was ongoing.

Members of the Musician’s Union (MU) have been campaigning after WNO management said it was forced to consider making the orchestra part time and cut musicians’ pay by 15%.

Its campaign, which included sustained industrial action from September to March has achieved both goals, the MU said in a statement.

The Welsh government will also provide an additional £1.5m to support arts organisations, the union said.

WNO is Wales’ largest arts organisation and one of only two full time professional orchestras in the country.

“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,” MU general secretary Naomi Pohl said.

MU regional organiser for Wales and south-west England Andy Warnock said the WNO was “still in a fragile position overall”.

He added: “It’s essential that WNO retains its full-time performing forces, which we know is the aim of the company’s new leadership, so we need politicians and both Arts Councils in England and Wales to join us for discussions on how that can be achieved.”