MUSICIANS at the Welsh National Opera (WNO) are set to strike over plans to force them to work part-time and cut their pay by 15 per cent, their union revealed today.

The Musicians’ Union (MU) said its members backed strikes by 81 per cent and that the plans resulted from funding cuts by Arts Council England and Arts Council Wales.

MU general secretary Naomi Pohl urged WNO management to work with the union on alternatives that would allow it to remain a full-time company.