Musicians’ Union settles for short-term pay deal

Published Tuesday 23 May 2006 at 16:05 by Nuala Calvi

Musicians in touring theatre have been forced to agree a short-term pay settlement, after attempts to bring in a radical new wage system based on venue size were rejected by managers.

The Musicians’ Union had hoped to introduce a sliding pay scale based on the percentage of time shows spend in large-scale venues, in order to stop managements setting salaries for big-budget touring musicals at a level more appropriate for smaller, static productions.

Officials now claim they will need more time to convince the Theatrical Management Association that a variable system can work and have agreed a one-year increase of 3.4% while negotiations continue, bringing the weekly wage for once-nightly performances to £355.55.

A longer-term agreement is likely to have just two different rates - one for large, commercial tours and another for static shows in regional repertory theatres.

MU assistant general secretary Horace Trubridge said: “We were concerned it was becoming clear we weren’t going to reach a full agreement in the negotiations but we wanted to be sure the players got an increase while we continued to talk.”