Montebelluna museums, co-op lowers workers' compensation, they threaten to quit

There is a case that is probably unprecedented in the world of culture: it is happening at the Civic Museums of Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso, where the Culture cooperative (one of the largest in Italy in the culture sector), winner of the tender for the management of the museums in the Treviso municipality, has lowered the hourly wages (by 12-15%) to the workers, but 25 of them, between the ages of 28 and 45, many of whom boast several years of experience, have refused to accept the new situation and are therefore threatening to leave. They are professionals who have worked for years at the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology and the Great War Memorial.

“The Culture cooperative,” explained Marta Casarin, Secretary General of the FP CGIL of Treviso, “last month was awarded the contract to manage the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology and the Great War Memorial. The City of Montebelluna issues a call for tenders for civic museums every two years. Venetian Culture, which took over from Montebelluna-based Delfino, won at a significant discount. As CGIL we are fighting for the two permanent contracts to have the continuity required by the regulations. We understand the difficulties dictated by the moment, but it is not acceptable that the cooperative wants to lower the hourly wages to the 25 workers paid by VAT and for occasional services, who previously received 27 and 23 euros per hour gross, respectively. Culture first proposed a one-size-fits-all rate and then 23 and 21.5 euros per hour, a significant drop even considering that the number of hours is small given the few projects currently underway with schools. Over the years these workers, between the ages of 28 and 45, some with 15 years of experience behind them in the area, have made valuable contributions and impetus to museum activities, including designing educational workshops and guided tours. The culture and work offered by historians, archaeologists and naturalists should not and cannot be sold out, moreover considering the high and specific professional skills. The cooperative, which has been active for years in the cultural sphere at the national level, wants to charge the same price everywhere, without considering the peculiarities of the Marca.”

“Municipal museums,” Casarin concludes, “encapsulate an excellent quality of work, which is now in danger of being lost. If operators leave, they will be replaced, with an inevitable lowering of the very quality of service. We call for an intervention from Mayor Elzo Severin, because whoever takes over the museums must be put in a position to guarantee not only the service but also the quality of work, within a framework of maintaining and stabilizing the workers. Former Mayor Marzio has always cared about culture, it is unacceptable that it is now losing value.”

Regent deputy mayor Elzo Severin also spoke on the matter: “It is unfortunate that the municipality is being dragged into the matter when the entity entrusted the Culture cooperative with the task in full compliance with the regulations,” he says. “At the expiration of the management service of the Montebellunese municipal museums, a tender was published with respect to which it, the Culture cooperative, submitted a regular bid. No one else participated so the task, with maximum transparency, was awarded to the same. Incidentally, I point out that this was a tender characterized by much quality, with several innovative and interesting projects and initiatives that the cooperative was willing to implement in collaboration with our cultural services. Therefore, although we understand the FP CGIL’s concern, the City does not have the tools to intervene in the definition of collaborators’ compensation, which, instead, pertains to private negotiation. However, the City ensures direction and control over the quality of the service that much pertains to the work that Montebelluna Cultural Services has always done in the planning and design of popular and educational activities thanks to its employees.”

According to the Mi Riconosci association, however, the situation would be different: “The call for bids,” explains the movement that protects cultural workers, “could have been written to avoid such rebates, and safeguard the workers as well as the quality of the service. Now the museum will continue to function, but losing 20 years of planning and professionalism acquired. The local CGIL explains to us that the Municipality’s interference has never been lacking in the management of the museum and fees, but now that direct intervention by the principal (the Municipality) would be necessary, here it is denied.”

Montebelluna museums, co-op lowers workers' compensation, they threaten to quit

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