Edinburgh theatres face safety strike
BECTU is balloting members in the King's and Festival theatres over job cuts that could undermine health and safety.
Edinburgh's Festival theatre where a strike looms over job cuts.
The union is trying to prevent two redundancies in the backstage technical department which provides maintenance, safety-testing, and risk assessment services to the theatres.
Management have already won union agreement to the closure of two vacant posts, but now plan to make a further two jobs redundant in the department, which BECTU believes will put backstage staff at risk.
Union officials have also criticised the financial acumen of John Stalker, chief executive of the trust fund which owns both theatres. According to the union, theatres he has previously run have suffered brutal cost-cutting as the result of box-office losses.
PRESS RELEASE FROM BECTU
04.05.2005
The King's and Festival Theatres in Edinburgh face a summer of disruption as BECTU members begin a ballot for strike action over compulsory redundancies, amid allegations by staff that management are deliberately ignoring health & safety Laws. Rumours also abound that John Stalker, the Chief Executive, is applying for other jobs to get away from the current financial mess.
The dispute now centres round Management's decision to break off negotiations with BECTU, and to push ahead with 2 compulsory redundancies in the Technical Department, despite the union putting forward numerous alternatives, which could easily have saved the required amount.
Paul McManus, Scottish Organiser for BECTU, said: "Not one of our members is convinced by management's financial arguments which were extremely short on detail, yet we agreed to a number of voluntary redundancies, and to additional flexibilities in duties.
"However, in order to protect the health & safety of our members, the public, and performers working on stage, we must fight to keep these 2 jobs. Someone dies virtually every year working in the theatre industry.
"Yet management have continually ignored our warnings that health & safety laws are being broken all the time, because they won't give technical staff the time or resources to comply with legislation which has been in place for many years."
Staff are also deeply concerned that a number of senior managers who would know the true extent of the financial problems have jumped ship to other jobs.
"Festival City Theatres Trust should be one of the most prestigious theatre organisations to work for in the UK", said McManus, "so why are senior managers so desperate to leave, and if the reports are true, why is John Stalker applying for other jobs, unless he has no faith in his own financial planning?"
Shows likely to be affected by the strike will be the Children's Festival, Scottish Opera's performance of Fidelio, as well as all the Edinburgh Festival Productions.
BECTU is calling on Edinburgh City Council to launch an urgent investigation into the running of the King's & Festival Theatres.
For further information please contact BECTU's Scottish office: Telephone: 0141 314 0060 Mobile: 07775-592031