BECTU, which represents the company's backstage staff, had planned to strike last night in protest of the company's plan to stop recognizing the union as the representative of some workers. But Alex Neil, an influential member of the Scottish parliament, wrote to both the union and the company yesterday, asking the union to suspend the strike while negotiations continued.

In a statement, BECTU said that it would suspend "industrial action for two weeks, in a serious effort to kick-start discussions."

The labor dispute comes at a delicate moment: Scottish Opera has just returned to the stage after shutting down for the entire 2005-06 season because of financial problem.

"Our members made it clear from day one that the last thing they wanted was to disrupt performances for the next month, particularly given the opera's perilous financial position," said Paul McManus, BECTU's organizer in Scotland.