RTÉ WARNED OF STRIKE OVER ORCHESTRA
Union’s threat as rumours of amalgamation circulate and review looms
RTÉ faces an all-out strike if it tries to tamper with the make-up of its two orchestras, Siptu warned this weekend.
Senior managers at the broadcaster believe a strike would have widespread support within the organisation.
Siptu organiser Graham Macken told the Irish Mail on Sunday that the union would ballot for a strike if RTÉ tried to cut or amalgamate its orchestras.
‘Yes, we would ballot for a strike if management
‘Opportunity to stand up to dumbing down’
attempted to interfere with the orchestras,’ he said.
‘We have just two orchestras in this country, it’s a very small amount, we need to defend them. And, more than that, RTÉ is obliged to maintain them under the Broadcasting Act.’
The union has several hundred members within RTÉ, and other unions would also be expected to respect their pickets.
A senior manager at RTÉ told the MoS they believed strike action would be popular. ‘There’s a real feeling of a dumbing down in here of the whole organisation at the moment and defending the orchestras would be an opportunity for staff to stand up to that.’
Another senior manager said the orchestras were an integral part of RTÉ and staff would want them kept. ‘I think people here will try to face down any attempt to water down the orchestras. One, because they’re popular, but also because there’s a feeling, who’s next?’
RTÉ announced this week that a review of its orchestras would take place, led by English media consultant Helen Boaden, just two years after the last review.
The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra were founded in 1948. The Concert Orchestra is smaller and focuses more on popular music.
Announcing the review, Aodán Ó Dubhghaill, RTÉ’s head of orchestras, said it will look at ‘what our current and future audiences want... and how RTÉ’s orchestral music will be heard in venues, on screens and on radio’.
‘RTÉ’s overall funding position is well known and it is incumbent on RTÉ to consider and assess its role in the provision of orchestral music as it plans for the future,’ he said.
Meanwhile, RTÉ has defended the prices of some events featuring its orchestras. Some tickets for the Symphony Orchestra performing the ET score at a Bord Gáis Energy Theatre screening of the film next month are €264 for a family of four. A similar screening of a Harry Potter film at the 3Arena this summer, which featured the Concert Orchestra, had tickets priced up to €75.
‘The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra has a wide range of live performances throughout the year. Some are free, such as Culture Night performances in the National Concert Hall,’ said a spokesman.
‘In the case of the live performance of ET and other shows produced by the RTÉ NSO, ticket prices are set to cover the cost of the performance, including venue hire. Ticket prices for ET start from €21, while family tickets for two adults and two children start from €200 for premium seats.’
‘In many cases, such as the Harry Potter shows, the orchestra is hired to perform and does not set the ticket price,’ he added.
‘Incumbent on RTÉ to consider and assess role’