English National Opera May Face Workers' Strike; Controversy Over Appointments Grows | Playbill

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Classic Arts News English National Opera May Face Workers' Strike; Controversy Over Appointments Grows Members of the English National Opera's staff have rejected a contract offer from the company and will vote on whether to strike over the next two weeks, the Times of London reports.
According to the paper, technical workers and production and box-office staff, who are represented by the union Bectu, had asked for a raise of 5 percent. ENO offered a 2.77 percent raise. The strike could shut down the company next month.

The vote comes with the company still reeling from the resignation last week of artistic director and CEO Sešn Doran. A growing chorus of opera observers has condemned the ENO, and chairman Martin Smith, for quickly replacing Doran with two staffers from within rather than conducting a public search for a successor.

Most recently, the chairman of Arts Council England, the British arts-funding agency, told the Times that, contrary to ENO's assertions, the appointments had not been made with the council's approval. To the contrary, Christopher Frayling told the paper, "they ignored the Arts Council's advice."

The London Guardian reports that "a vote of no confidence...in Smith is understood to be planned." The paper did not say who was planning the vote.

 
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