The Chorus of the Welsh National Opera will pause its strike action to allow progress to be made in future talks.

The Equity Members in the ensemble had scheduled a strike action for Oct. 11. Instead the members will wear t-shirts saying #SaveOurWNO #AchubOCC during the performance of “Opera Favourites at the Movies.” They will also leaflet audience members prior to the show.

“Equity’s discussions have been ongoing with WNO management since April of this year, but it is only now – with a new interim General Director at the WNO – that our concerns are being addressed seriously and with an appreciation of the highly skilled jobs our members do for the company,” Simon Curtis, Equity Wales Official, said in an official announcement. “To make sure we explore every possible option to safeguard jobs and the workforce requires time, and that is why we are allowing this new management space to reach an agreement which works for our members. The chorus continue to be concerned about the implications and any implementation of management’s most recent proposals and our demands remain the same – a full time chorus on a full time wage, with no compulsory redundancies.”

Ninety-three percent of chorus members voted for industrial action over the proposed changes, including an action short of a strike. There has already been a call for strike action on Sept. 21, 2024, the season’s opening night performance of “Rigoletto” as well as subsequent strikes on Sept. 29. The decision came in reaction to the Welsh National Opera management proposing to cut the size and hours of the hours of the chorus while also calling for a 15 percent pay cut. Equity is calling for full-time wages, a full-time chorus, and no compulsory redundancies, which were a possibility under managements plan.