MILAN (AFP) — Milan's La Scala opera house will probably open its 2007-08 season on schedule on December 7 thanks to the culture ministry's intervention in the face of a threatened strike, a union leader said Wednesday.
Workers have been asked to "consider" abandoning the strike plan, CISL Milan secretary general Renato Zambelli told AFP, adding: "Management says it is willing to resume negotiations. We will meet on Thursday to set a calendar and discuss the recovery of wages for 2006-07."
Unions at Italy's most prestigious opera house had wanted to negotiate a renewal of their contracts before a national-level agreement is reached.
Then late Tuesday t1he culture ministry and the unions of the national entertainment sector agreed that opera houses could negotiate salary agreements separately.
"The conditions are in place for work," Zambelli said, while adding that the final decision was up to the 800 employees.
Three performances were cancelled this month because of strikes at La Scala, whose workers want salary increases and better schedules at a time when the opera house has stepped up the number of performances per show.
The next season opens with Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" directed by Daniel Barenboim.
The season opener traditionally falls on the saint's day of Milan's patron Saint Ambrose, and it is a high point in the cultural life of the city.
Ticket prices range up to 2,000 euros (3,000 dollars).
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