New ENO pay offer recommended

BECTU's members working for the English National Opera are being advised to accept a new pay offer.

The new pay and conditions restructuring offer was hammered out during all-night talks at ACAS, and offers backstage staff a pay increase of 10% from 6 September in return for accepting flexible scheduling arrangements. A second pay increase is built into the new offer - on 1 August 2000 staff will receive a rise of £1,000, worth at least 3.8% for top earners, and a higher percentage for lower-paid staff.

The original restructuring plan led to a threat of industrial action, which was postponed to allow peace talks at conciliation service ACAS. Proposals for annualised hours - calculation of overtime over a 12 month period - were dropped at ACAS, and replaced by a system under which stage, electrics, wardrobe, and wigs staff will work 20 basic days in every four weeks, with a limit of six days per week.

Management plans to scrap guaranteed weekends off were also dropped - the new offer promises 24 weekends off per year, which can be changed provided 17 weeks notice is given. Paid meal breaks - another benefit that management threatened to scrap - will continue under the new offer.

The union's ballot of members starts on 19 July and closes on 30 July. If the new offer is accepted, ENO's calendar for the rest of the year will be able to run without the disruption that was expected if staff took industrial action.