Trade Unions Demand Dismissal of Culture Minister

The CulturMedia Federation is sounding the alarm about the way the Ministry of Culture manages public cultural institutions and is demanding the dismissal of Minister Andras Demeter, as well as the urgent intervention of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, President Nicuşor Dan and the parliamentary committees on culture, to "reestablish legality and stability in the public cultural system”. According to a statement, the CulturMedia Federation, a representative trade union organization at sector level and signatory to the Collective Labor Agreement for public cultural institutions, accuses the ministry's leadership of destabilizing the cultural system, the lack of dialogue with specialists and ignorance of legal obligations regarding transparency and consultation with social partners. "The Ministry of Culture has generated unpredictability and institutional blockages, affecting the public interest and the trust of professionals in the field”, state CulturMedia representatives.

The Federation requests the cancellation of management competitions organized "under non-transparent conditions" and their resumption in compliance with legal principles, by publishing the composition of the committees, the criteria and the justifications for the grades awarded. The organization also demands: full compliance with the sectoral Collective Labor Agreement; stopping any steps to reorganize or abolish the National Institute of Heritage; initiating a real reform of GEO 189/2008, regarding the management of cultural institutions, through social dialogue; self-referral to the competent authorities to verify compliance with labor legislation and administrative transparency. The Federation draws attention to the fact that the current crisis has been amplified by "alarmist public messages regarding the closure of museums on weekends, the lack of funds for salaries and non-transparent procedures in organizing cultural management competitions".

• "Culture is a public interest, not an administrative experiment"

In its appeal to the Government and Parliament, CulturMedia warns that administrative instability endangers national heritage, affects Romania's international image and causes losses of specialists in the system.

"Culture is a public interest, not an administrative experiment. Heritage is not negotiable. People in culture are not expendable. CulturMedia remains open to dialogue, but cannot accept the perpetuation of a climate of instability and lack of transparency," states the document sent to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and President Nicuşor Dan. The CulturMedia Federation represents employees from the main public cultural institutions - museums, theaters, philharmonics, cultural research and heritage institutes. In recent months, the organization has reported numerous dysfunctions in the cultural system, including budget blockages, incoherent administrative procedures and lack of communication between the ministry and its subordinate institutions.