Entertainment unions call on ACE to offer ‘realistic strategy’ for ENO
Florence Lockheart
Thursday, May 4, 2023
The MU, Equity and Bectu have voiced their concern that ACE funding offered for the company's transition period is not enough to ensure a successful move to a new primary base outside of London
The Musicians’ Union (MU) has joined forces with performing arts, media, and entertainment trade unions Equity and Bectu to call upon Arts Council England (ACE) to offer a ‘realistic strategy’ for English National Opera (ENO).
The amount of funding and the timescale detailed in the ENO’s recently announced future strategy remain a cause of concern for the MU, Equity and Bectu. The industry bodies have therefore called on ACE to offer a strategy which will ensure a sustainable future for the company.
MU general secretary Naomi Pohl said: ‘The orchestra, chorus and crew that make up the ENO company are crucial to its hard-earned reputation and on-going success. They must not be dismantled. ENO is innovative and making significant headway in attracting new audiences to opera. They deserve a secure future and for Arts Council England to support them in achieving it.’
Following a huge public response to ACE’s original proposal in November 2022, the Council last month offered the company an award of up to £24 million for the 2024-26 period. This still required the company to move its primary base outside of London (continuing to own and perform at the London Coliseum). While the MU welcomed this, it warned that this level of funding still represented a real terms cut of 24 per cent since 2015 when inflation and the cost of a new primary base are factored in.
Philippa Childs, Head of Bectu, said: ‘We need commitment from ACE to work with the unions and the ENO on a thorough and realistic plan for the company. One that sets it up for future success and protects the livelihood of its staff and freelancers.’
The ACE funding offered for this transition period by ACE is less than ENO previously received as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) and will need to cover the company’s work, plus the many facets of establishment of a new base outside of London.
Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said: ‘If “levelling up” is real and not just a populist ploy, we have to see a settlement which provides for good jobs at the current London base, with additional funding to create new work opportunities around a regional home for the ENO. Let’s learn from the historic successes of the establishment of Opera North, and the relocation of Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, both moves which created more jobs, more art and, frankly, required more money, not less, to secure a stable future.’
