"Respect for museum workers, we have the right to pay": small museums write to Mattarella

On the case of the call for bids for the director of the Regional Museum of Ceramics and the Municipal Art Gallery of Deruta (Perugia) there is now a petition, launched by theAssociation of Small Museums and addressed to the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the Minister of Labor Nunzia Catalfo and the Minister of Cultural Heritage Dario Franceschini. The affair is now well known: in the Umbrian town, the municipality has issued a call for tenders for the new director of the two museums, with a position that, however, in view of the high level of expertise and numerous delicate responsibilities, does not provide for any remuneration: in short, the director will work for free.

The petition was launched on change.org and calls on the three policymakers to establish the right to remuneration for museum workers, enshrined in Article 36 of the Constitution, which states that “a worker has the right to remuneration commensurate with the quantity and quality of his or her work and in any case sufficient to ensure for himself or herself and his or her family a free and dignified existence.”

“Museum professionals,” the petition reads, “seem to lack the rights of all other workers. No-cost directors, lifetime precariousness for educational workers, no protection whatsoever. All this goes against Article 36 of our Constitution.” The health emergency over coronavirus Covid-19, the text concludes, “has further highlighted the difficulties of those who work in this sector. This is why we are asking policymakers to take action so that the work of museum professionals and workers is respected and that a clear distinction is made between volunteer work and labor. Please sign and get people to sign this petition and give it the maximum circulation.”

"Respect for museum workers, we have the right to pay": small museums write to Mattarella

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