Musicians of one of the best orchestras in Spain were unemployed

A total of eleven musicians from one of the best symphony orchestras in Spain, the Gran Teatro del Liceo orchestra in Barcelona, were fired just two hours after the last performance and the closing of the 2011/2012 season, a spokesman for the Union of Musicians and Artists told the press today.

The group of those dismissed includes soloists of the orchestra and ordinary musicians playing mainly on brass instruments, the head of the Union of Musicians and Artists said. The company’s management informed employees that the prerequisites for such a step were “economic reasons” and the ongoing crisis in the Spanish economy. Upon dismissal, each musician received compensation in just 20 working days, an amount comparable to that which receives a good wedding photographer for the service of one wedding.

The union praised the new layoffs as continuing attacks on musicians after two years ago mass cuts virtually destroyed the oldest orchestra in Catalonia. The union claims that the employer did not discuss its solution with him, did not offer other solutions to the problem. The dialogue between the leadership and the trade union was unilaterally interrupted at the initiative of the employer back in June last year, when all theater workers received notifications of wage reductions for the same "economic reasons".

The Union of Musicians and Artists has announced that it will hold an emergency meeting after the leadership of the Gran Teatro del Liceo returns from vacation to work out measures to prevent further layoffs and preserve the theater’s creative team for the new season.