In cash terms, musicians in the RoH Orchestra are paid less now than they were in 2015. Image credit: Jonathan Stewart © The MU.
Musicians in the Royal Opera House Orchestra are taking their second action short of strike on Friday 29 September.
They will be leafleting outside the entrance to the Opera House before the evening performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold, and wearing yellow t-shirts instead of their usual concert dress during the performance.
It's part of the orchestra’s campaign to have their pay restored to pre pandemic levels.
Give the orchestra back their 10%
In 2020, musicians in the Royal Opera House Orchestra took a 10% pay cut to help the financial situation of the company during the Covid-19 pandemic when the Opera House was closed.
Their pay was never restored to pre-pandemic levels.
Musicians in the Royal Opera House Orchestra are now calling on management to give back their 10%.
Working longer for less
Musicians in the orchestra also took cuts to their terms and conditions to help the Royal Opera House survive pandemic restrictions. These include removing their media fees, more split days starting early and finishing very late at night, and double the amount of Sunday working.
Yet, in cash terms, they are paid less now than they were in 2015.
These musicians are working harder for less, during the biggest cost of living crisis for decades.
The orchestra stepped up to support the Royal Opera House in tough times. It's time Royal Opera House did the same for them.
More ways to support the campaign
Please show your support for the orchestra by posting a message of support on social media using the hashtags #RoyalOperaHouse and #FairPay.
Remember to mention @WeAreTheMU on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok or @Musicians.Union on Facebook so that we can share your message with musicians in the Royal Opera House Orchestra.
Thanks to everyone who's posted a message in solidarity so far.
Scroll through some of the messages below, or head to the MU's Twitter feed for more.