Equity Brings Its 'Save Our ENO' Campaign to London Assembly in Latest Effort to Halt ACE Decision to Move Out of London

Equity, the union for performers and creatives, will today (Thursday 8 June) take its campaign to save the jobs of its chorus and stage management members at the English National Opera to the London Assembly.

The Assembly will hear a motion in support of the affected workers, which calls on Arts Council England (ACE) to end its requirement for the ENO to establish a primary base out of London, as revealed in a shock NPO funding decision last November.

A recent survey of the union's members working at ENO shows that more than two-thirds of staff would quit the ENO and the profession all together if the company relocates outside London, because of ties that include children at school, caring responsibilities, and partners with jobs in the capital.

The motion, to be moved by Elly Baker AM at the London Assembly's plenary session, calls on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to intervene with ACE and the Secretary of State for Culture over the proposed move.

Any such move outside of London will cause significant job losses at the Opera Company, due to the derisory funding offered by ACE to the ENO to facilitate the move. Chorus members currently engaged at the ENO represent 1/3 of the permanent opera chorus workforce in the country, and the stage management roles are rare permanent jobs in the industry. Equity believes that the costs of a move outside of London would require the ENO to make redundancies to these high quality, unionised roles and reengage people on precarious, freelance contracts.

Equity has organised a photocall outside City Hall on Kamal Chunchie Way, for 12.30pm on Thursday 8 June, for the ENO workers, supporters of the campaign, plus Assembly Members who are supporting the motion. Press are welcome to attend this photocall. Full details below.

Elly Baker, Londonwide Assembly Member proposing the motion, said:

“I am delighted to put forward this motion to protect a vital part of London's economy, and the unionised workers who make culture happen in our city.

“By adopting this motion today, the London Assembly will make clear to the Arts Council that they need to stop their badly thought out, rushed plan to move the ENO outside of London. The impact on the lives and livelihoods of the workers at the ENO is clear. Families and careers have been hanging in the balance for months, it needs to stop.

“The chorus and stage management workers at the ENO deserve better from the Arts Council that this rushed decision.

“The Arts Council should listen to the concerns of the London Assembly, expressed this afternoon in our motion, and I look forward to the offer of a meeting with ACE CEO Darren Henley to address our concerns.”

Lottie Stables, Industrial Official responsible for Opera, said:

“We are hopeful of cross-party support for this motion, to demonstrate to Arts Council England that this is an issue of serious concern for the city's politicians, and not a niche issue they can sweep under the carpet.

“Our members at ENO have campaigned relentlessly to save the ENO that we all know and love. It's a cultural institution that makes opera affordable and accessible to new audiences with successful outreach programmes, subsidised tickets and its programme of work sung in English. All of this, and our members' livelihoods, are being put at risk by an ill-conceived requirement establish a primary base out of London. Equity will continue to defend our members' jobs, and fight for properly funded opera accessible to all – including working class Londoners.”

The following motion has been proposed in the name of Elly Baker AM and will be seconded by Joanne McCartney AM:

“This Assembly recognises the huge success of the English National Opera's (ENO) efforts to make opera affordable and accessible to its audiences, and the importance of the company's presence in London to the city's cultural offering and economy.

This Assembly remains concerned about the impact to London's economy and access to culture, following the Government's instruction to the Arts Council England (ACE) to reduce its overall current investment in the National Portfolio in London.

This Assembly objects to Arts Council England's insistence that the ENO must move out of London; recalling the unwarranted impact this will have on the lives and livelihoods of ENO workers, represented by Equity, BECTU and the Musicians' Union; as well as the adverse impact this will have on London's cultural sector and the economy.

This Assembly reiterates the need for strong funding for the arts at all levels in all parts of the UK, noting the success of Opera North, previously ENO North; but believes that public funding of opera across the country must not come at the cost of Londoners.

This Assembly calls for:

1.     The Arts Council England to end its requirement for the ENO to establish a primary base out of London;

2.     No job losses at the ENO, and calls on affected parties, including the Arts Council England, to hold talks directly with the affected trade unions and their members, to reach a negotiated settlement;

3.     The Arts Council England to ensure that funding changes do not result in any negative impact to Londoners and that a full programme of offers and events at affordable prices remains at the ENO in London;

4.     The Mayor to write to Arts Council England expressing concern at their plans to remove significant cultural institutions such as the ENO from London and calling on them to change their requirements for the ENO to have a primary base outside of London;

5.     The Mayor to call on the Secretary of State for Culture to provide the funding necessary to keep ENO's primary base in London to ensure that levelling up does not lead to a loss of cultural offerings or jobs to Londoners.”