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OSM Musicians go on Strike
Press release
May 3, 2005
The musicians of the OSM will be on strike as of Monday, the 9th of May.
The musicians have made this decision after 18 months of negotiations in which they have made every effort to avoid a strike. With the intention of giving the management more flexibility, the musicians have made over 40 concessions to the current collective agreement, already one of the most flexible in the North American Music Industry. Despite this the management persists in making demands that would compromise the well being of the musicians and the artistic quality of the orchestra. Example: the management continues to demand that the musicians work more consecutive days than the Labour Standards Law permits; they also demand that the orchestra give up a day off on tour with no compensation to travel to another destination.
The management’s monetary offer is nothing less than an insult to their musicians. It lengthens by two years the salary freeze that the musicians accepted for the 2002-2003 season, which constitutes an 8th and 9th year without increase since 1991. It thus proposes, until September 1st, 2009, increases equivalent to 0.9% annually. By then, the OSM musicians would be earning much less than their colleagues in the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa were already earning as of September 1st, 2002.
In light of the very favourable conditions that have recently developed, it is regrettable that the current management, both through its fundamental misunderstanding of what is required to run a world-class symphony orchestra and through its lack of artistic vision, does not seize this opportunity to propel the OSM towards a bright and promising future.
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