Employees at the Finnish National Opera have filed a new complaint against the Finnish National Opera Foundation.
The lawsuit filed by twenty-five orchestra musicians and choir members has to do with unlawful dismissals. The strife has continued already for a few years now. The National Opera has laid off workers for the summer months, for which time no salaries have been paid.
Already in February the Finnish Labour Court found the National Opera’s conduct to be in conflict with the labour agreements, and as a result the National Opera Foundation was ordered to pay compensation to the Musicians’ Union.
However, the Labour Court did not look into the employees’ pay claims.
A new lawsuit has now been filed in an attempt to recover these unpaid salaries. The sums vary between 400 and 700 euros per person.
Some of the musicians have also filed a separate complaint with which they seek a EUR 15,000 compensation for the Opera’s violation against the Cooperation Act.
Double-bassistJyrki Hiilivirta, who has signed both the complaints, summarises the problem with the National Opera: “Poor personnel administration. The staff are not valued.”
The Finnish National Opera’s General Director Päivi Kärkkäinen did not want to comment on the details of the dispute yesterday.
“Negotiations are under way. I do not wish to elaborate on the details at this stage.”
If the dispute goes to court, the handling of the case will begin in September-October.
