Crisis at Scottish Opera

BECTU members at Scottish Opera meet this week to decide their response to management's union-busting tactics.

Talks about plans to limit union recognition broke down over Easter after a new management consultant was brought in by the Opera.

Officials had been in discussions since December 2005 on the proposed derecognition of several staff categories and the introduction of consultation, rather then full negotiation, over many workplace issues.

Management also wanted to introduce an annualised hours system under which overtime could be cancelled out by time off at any point in the year.

Relations between management and the union were tipped into a crisis when the Opera sent new contracts to staff, with instructions to sign them.

Opera management refused BECTU's request that the contracts should be withdrawn to allow further talks to take place, and have now been accused of deliberately atempting to "break the union".

The company also refused to refer its dispute with the union upwards under the terms of a concord BECTU has struck with Scottish employers.

Members meet on Friday April 21, when officials will urge them to support a campaign of industrial action against the management.

Scottish Opera's tough approach comes despite the progress made in talks with BECTU over several months on changes to its cost base. Cost-cutting was one of the conditions attached to a loan from the Scottish Executive last year after the Opera ran up a deficit of £4 million in 2004.

The chorus of 34 singers was sacked, and BECTU agreed to 15 redundancies in construction, wardrobe, and production departments.

Late last year the Opera effectively closed for 8 months, with the intention of re-opening this year, offering a reduced programme of only four productions per annum.

Then, in December, BECTU was confronted with a plan to withdraw union recognition from casual staff and technical supervisors.

Negotiators are warning members that if the de-recognition plan succeeds, management will probably take advantage of the union's weakened bargaining strength to push through severe changes in terms and conditions.