FEARS have been raised that the bid by the players of the Royal
Scottish National Orchestra to instigate a new era of self-government
will be put on ice at a board meeting of the orchestra today.
The meeting, at the RSNO centre in Glasgow, will be the last attended
by retiring chief executive Mr Christopher Bishop, who has had a stormy
relationship with the musicians. He is replaced at the beginning of next
month by Mr Paul Hughes, a former manager of the Academy of Ancient
Music, who is moving from a position as artist manager with IMG Artists
in London.
It is understood that the board is anxious to clarify the position of
the band's administrative structure before Mr Hughes takes up his post,
and doubts raised by the Inland Revenue over the continuation of the
charitable status of the RSNO Society under self-government make that
difficult.
Broadly, it is believed that the taxman is unhappy with the prospect
of the players being their own employer and remaining a charity. The
position of orchestras in London who enjoy such status was agreed before
the rules were so strictly enforced, and most of the musicians are
self-employed.
With a smaller pool of freelance work in Scotland, threatened further
by the proposed merger of the BBC SSO and the Orchestra of Scottish
Opera, the RSNO musicians are anxious to maintain their contract status.
Players' spokesman Mr Jeremy Fletcher last night dismissed the fears
of the Inland Revenue, noting that the level of the musicians' wages
would always rest ultimately in the hands of funding bodies, rather than
those of the orchestra management.
''If we tried to boost our wages, we would be out of business,'' he
said.
He conceded that the likelihood of a quick move towards
self-government may well be receding, and acknowledged the prospect of
the plan being put on the back burner.
He said: ''If that were to happen it would be an administrative
convenience, not a slap in the face. Negotiations are still on-going and
it may not be possible to get a final answer tomorrow, but I hope we are
still on course to get to the target we have been working for.''
However, other voices in the orchestra suggested that the move at
board level may be a last attempt by Mr Bishop to put a spanner in the
works of a plan he opposed. Mr Fletcher, who will be one of the player
representatives at today's meeting, said he had no reason to believe
that, although he was not surprised to hear it suggested.
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