The Arts Workers Union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance will take Opera Australia to the Fair Work Commission over a large dispute regarding the proposed layoff of musicians and members of the chorus and staff.

MEAA accused Opera Australia of acting unconscionably by axing 25 percent of its workforce without prior consultation with the union. Paul Davies, the director of MEAA’s Musicians section, said in a statement that planned redundancies  were “a terrible decision by Opera Australia’s management and its board.”

“The affected workers have been loyal employees of OA for many years and have already taken a temporary pay cut to help the company through the crisis caused by COVID-19,” added Davies. “Now, at the worst possible time, their loyalty has been repaid with a brutal round of forced redundancies and they find themselves unemployed in the middle of the worst recession since the Second World War.”

Davies also accused Opera Australia management of showing disrespect for its employees.

“This disgraceful behaviour was on show last week when at one presentation given to OA staff, chaired by artistic director Lyndon Teraccini, employees were not permitted to ask questions or comment,” further clarified Davies.

“These workplace changes are necessary as a response to the continuing coronavirus crisis,” said Opera Australia’s CEO Rory Jeffes in a response. “This is not easy and many of the conversations we have been compelled to undertake have been incredibly hard. As we have explained in our initial meetings with both our employees and the MEAA, they are driven by the need to implement mitigation measures to address the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure OA remains a viable organisation,” added Jeffes.

The Union has officially asked for the intervention of the Arts Minister Paul Fletcher.