Budapest Opera
(c) Remy Franck
A strike of technical staff and orchestra musicians hits Budapest Opera. Several performances proceeded without orchestra or correct stage set. Some works were hugely cut and compressed and accompanied only by piano. The strikers demand an immediate wage hike and collective contracts.
Péter Balázs Bárány, president of the Independent Union of Opera Staff members, said this is not just about wages indexed to inflation, as a collective bargaining contract is needed so that the institution cannot exploit its workers.
The strike is followed differently. Balázs Péter Bárány said: « What I notice is that people are simply afraid to strike, even though it is a right enshrined in the constitution, » said the union leader, « they are afraid of the consequences of a strike, they do not believe that such an action cannot also have negative consequences for them, for example in the event of dismissal. »
