Romanian Artists Ask Culture Ministry To Rethink Law

Both law no. 353/2007 and its enforcement norms were published without the agreement of unionists, the executive president of the national federation Alfa ART, Cristian Prisecaru, said Tuesday.

He added the enforcement norms break the Labor Code and the Romanian Constitution, “enabling the managers of cultural institutions to modify individual work contracts”.

“The norms seek to eliminate all bonuses obtained following the negotiations of collective work contracts, cancel intellectual property rights by obliging artists to transfer them to employers, lower or eliminate the social rights of employees in the respective institutions: pensions, unemployment aid, health insurance,” Prisecaru said.

According to Prisecaru, if the law were to be enacted in its current form, managers of cultural institutions would have full power, as they would not have to consult any Artistic Council or any other professional.

"If a single person has the money and the control over theater artists, that person is like God. We asked the Culture Ministry to rethink this law and its enforcement norms, so as to have a manager in charge of funds and an artistic manager to represent the institution, to be a part of the Artistic Council, which decides cultural policy,” Prisecaru said.

According to the unionists, law no. 353/2007 seeks to transform the contracts concluded for a limited period of time into a general rule and leaves room for abuse on the part of employers.

"What happened with cinemas is happening now with theaters, there are real estate interests involved,” Prisecaru said.

The unionists proposed the Culture Ministry to create a commission to focus on the cultural policy of each theater.

"Outsourcing services is another trap, as we’d no longer pay staff to make costumes, settings and clean with fixed public sector wages, but we’d pay firms, which would surely use the same people, but would demand higher pay. The purpose is to destroy theaters as cultural institutions, on the ground that they aren’t profitable, and to sell their assets,” Prisecaru added.

Transferring theaters from the Culture Ministry to local authorities is not good either, as public authorities are unable to manage them in the absence of laws, unionists say.

After the unionists picketed the Ministry of Culture on August 13, nearly 70 artists and performers picketed on August 20 the central headquarters of the ruling Liberal Party in Bucharest, displeased with the draft law stipulating a new evaluation grid for their activity and payment.