From MiC 4.2 million arrears to employees, 54 million missing

The united denunciation of the public administration unions (CGL, CISL, UILPA, FLP, UNSA, CONFINTESA, USB-PI), on 5 June last, of the failure to pay the accessory salary of the staff of the Ministry of Culture for 2023 to the tune of approximately 65 million euro for almost 12 thousand employees had its effects. In fact, six days after the announcement, the Ministry of Culture, in a circular signed by Paolo D'Angeli, director of the General Budget Directorate, notified the regional secretariats and the peripheral and central institutes of the issuance of the decrees for the distribution of the 'Decentralised Resources Fund' in the amount of approximately EUR 4.2 million, equal to the last two months of 2023. Other arrears still remain to be paid, such as the improvement projects, also known as local projects, worth a total of approximately EUR 54 million and other sums relating to the second half of 2023 under the item 'third party account', projects for autonomous museums, and security services provided for events, amounting to approximately EUR 3 million, for a total amount of debt of approximately EUR 57 million. It is reported from trade union sources that the delays in payment are attributable to the lengthy delays at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and that the Ministry of Culture is working to guarantee the payment of the arrears in the August pay packet. The outcome is not yet certain, but the unions are giving credit to the MiC's efforts.

Il Ministro della Cultura Gennaro Sangiuliano

In addition to the arrears and gaffes of the Minister Sangiuliano, what is stirring the waters of the palace in Via del Collegio Romano is the public competition for 75 staff members belonging to the area of high professionalism with a specialised profile, defined by the ministry itself as 'super officials'. On 7 June, the trade unions convened a national assembly open to all MiC employees belonging to the civil servants' area, following which it was decided that mobilisation initiatives would be considered if there was no confrontation with Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano. The criticism raised concerns the thwarting of a year of negotiation at the technical round table between the ministry and the unions, where human resources requirements and the definition of professional families and job positions were discussed. In fact, the call for super-officials was published before the close of the work of the round table and without taking into account the indications that had emerged, creating a disparity between normal officials who must have a postgraduate degree and high-level professionals who do not need one. Other criticisms are based on the fact that some superfunctional positions are needed in only a few institutes (five out of 300 at most), without taking into account the needs of figures such as archaeologists, art historians, librarians, archivists, communicators and administrators. They also complain about the disparity in the excessively high salaries reserved for high profiles compared to normal officials, and that the publication of the notice just before the Europarliamentary vote is an electoral manoeuvre and not an opportunity for retraining and innovation of the ministry's staff. As things stand at present, there is no open discussion, so a long hot summer lies ahead for MiC on the payments and super-officials front.