Unions close doors to Castel del Monte and Apulian museums: workers complain of staff shortages

Last Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, almost all museums pertaining to the Polo Museale della Puglia were closed from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for union assemblies of workers, who wanted to take stock of the staff shortage affecting the pole’s museums. The assemblies were organized by the trade unions Fp Cgil Mibac Puglia, Cisl Fp Mibac and Uil-Pa Mibac Puglia, and the museums affected were Castel del Monte (one of the most visited sites in Italy, with 250.000 visitors a year), the Swabian Castle of Trani, the Archaeological Museum of Manfredonia, the Copertino Castle of Lecce, the Castle of Gioia del Colle, the site of Canne della Battaglia, the Archaeological Park of Siponto, the Archaeological Park and Museum of Egnazia, the National Gallery of Bitonto, the Archaeological Museum of Canosa, and the Archaeological Museum of Ruvo di Puglia.

The situation is serious, the unions denounce, “and makes it difficult, if not impossible,” reads a note, “for the usability of the region’s assets of greatest historical and artistic interest.” Thus, the unions have written to the minister of cultural heritage, Alberto Bonisoli, “so that a situation that is now unsustainable from the point of view of the safety of staff, visitors and the protection of Puglia’s cultural sites is remedied.” Specifically, the Apulian museum workers list “planned closures and reductions in hours on holidays in the coming months” at several sites in the museum hub: for example, the closure of some recently restored rooms in Bari’s Swabian Castle, the closure three times a week and on holidays at the Canne della Battaglia site, or the situation at Castel del Monte where, in order to guarantee the opening, the tenured staff has been replaced with personnel from the private company that is the concessionaire for additional services.

The workers therefore point the finger at “the inertia of the General Directorate of Museums, which, despite the reports and protests of months, if not years, and the huge economic investments, has failed to practice solutions, even temporary, to ensure the usability and safety of the Apulian sites, condemning them to sudden closures and precarious openings.”

The unions then announced that the state of agitation will continue, and in the meantime a number of requests have been sent to Minister Bonisoli: “specifically,” reads a further statement issued after the assemblies, “ it will have to be considered for the next hirings, the coverage and revisiting of the staffing of the Polo Museale della Puglia because any support staff cannot be considered a substitute for the tenured staff. The staff emphasizes that it will not be able to guarantee openings for the purposes of visitor and worker safety, as well as the protection of cultural sites in the absence of the minimum functional requirements.” Moreover, this is not a new situation: staff shortage is a problem that has plagued Apulia’s museums for years: back in 2016, CGIL appealed to then-Minister Franceschini asking for measures to counter the staff shortage.

Pictured: Castel del Monte. Ph. Credit Francesco Bini

Unions close doors to Castel del Monte and Apulian museums: workers complain of staff shortages

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