Outcry from MiBACT officials: 'we are struggling with staff shortages, need recruitment plan'

Officials of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism decided to raise their voices with a letter originally sent to some private entities, and received anonymously by the press this morning. MiBACT officials would not be able to address newspapers directly: the ministerial decree of Dec. 23, 2015, signed by Minister Dario Franceschini, requires that any MiBACT employee must seek permission from the respective manager in case he or she wants to speak to the press. This is why the letter is anonymous, and the names of the initiators of the initiative have been kept confidential even in relation to the press, due to the fear of strong sanctions. Based on what could be verified, at the moment the letter would appear to be signed by 15 officials from different offices with offices in 5 regions.

The 15 ministry employees decided to speak out as a result of the controversy that arose after the publication last December of a call by which MiBACT sought employees for superintendencies, but who had at least 15 years of experience. There have been several voices raised against this selection, since, due to the restrictive requirements, it risks cutting off many professionals. And this is where the letter begins.

“Last December 29,” the text reads, “the Mibact published a selection notice for the awarding of collaborative positions in the Superintendencies for the profiles of archaeologist, architect, art historian as well as accounting technician, site technical assistant and engineer. Basically, the Ministry is seeking officials and assistants, it is not known how many, as self-employed collaborators on VAT for six months or one year. This notice has raised criticism for the entry requirements, so much so that multiple labor unions and associations immediately called for the withdrawal of the notice.”

“To their voices,” the ministry officials write, "we want to add our own as superintendence officials. Our offices, to which the new staff would be destined, are in chronic shortage of staff, dramatically reduced by retirements and an uneven redistribution of personnel as a result of the establishment of new offices brought about by the reform. This shortage has become an insurmountable obstacle to the performance of the ordinary exercise of protection, which contemplates multiple activities, including, in addition to purely administrative measures, research, cataloguing, inventorying, study of the territory and publication of the results for the enjoyment of the community. Performing these tasks requires specific training that interweaves technical-scientific skills and regulatory tools. In addition to archaeological officers, architects, art historians and restorers, other professionals such as site assistants, communication experts, surveyors, administrative, computer, draftsmen, and photographers are needed. In short, doing preservation requires an articulated structure oriented to a specific institutional mission. What has been said is not new, but it is useful to reiterate it not for the sake of grievance, but to be fully aware of it, and also because an internal regulation of the Ministry - often interpreted in a coercive way - has for years inhibited employees from externalizing opinions or making statements about real working conditions. It is equally useful to repeat that the only possible remedy to this chronic staff shortage is a forward-looking competition and recruitment plan. And if in pandemic times competitions seem a distant prospect, the recent announcement could objectively be a palliative to bring some oxygen to the offices, albeit temporary."

“Herein lies the problem,” the letter continues. “The notice requires for officer-like roles a master’s degree and 15 years of experience, at least 3 of which must be working with PAs, or a postgraduate degree, 10 years of experience, 2 of which must be with PAs, or be a university professor: in short, very high and professionalizing requirements. So in six months these professionals should acquire the tools proper to the work of Superintendence and then return home. It is not clear why, given the critical situation already described, one should invest in term human resources and the doubt arises that this announcement is just a loophole to stabilize already existing collaborations, without going through a new competition. Furthermore, it is not stated how many positions are available. Over what needs of the organic plants will the collaborators be distributed among the various offices? And in the event that some offices in dramatic understaffing (notoriously the most peripheral offices) are not chosen by applicants, what solutions lie ahead? Who benefits offices that are not put in a position to effectively protect the territory? Certainly not to the territory and communities, for whom cultural heritage represents a value and a prospect for cultural and economic growth.”

“Outside the Administration,” the MiBACT officials continue, “professionals have been working for years who have not been able to put their skills at the service of the Ministry due to a nonexistent hiring policy, which has not promoted periodic competitions and has preferred to outsource and translate into precarious form activities that should be more correctly brought back into the public orbit, since it is the State’s primary task to take care of the protection of heritage. Today more than ever, ministerial offices and public work are easy targets, but deductions are often advanced without full knowledge of the facts.”

“For this reason,” the ministry officials conclude, “we believe it is useful to raise the voice of officials so that there are no distortions and so that it is a common demand that of a recruitment plan, long-term planning, regularization of contracts within the cultural heritage, reconsideration of the specialty of the different safeguards (archaeological, architectural, historical), which to be effective must operate with dedicated and specialized structures, equipped with staff and funding. We call for this in order to restore content and quality to the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage, which is a resource for the future and not a burden to be disposed of.”

Image: the Collegio Romano, headquarters of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Ph. Credit Windows on Art

Outcry from MiBACT officials: 'we are struggling with staff shortages, need recruitment plan'

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