Workers across Greece’s cultural sector are staging a 24-hour nationwide strike on Wednesday, October 21, demanding increased public funding, better employment conditions and the preservation of culture as a public good accessible to all.
The mobilization began with a rally scheduled for 10:30 a.m. outside the Ministry of Culture on Bouboulinas Street in Athens. Demonstrators were expected to join marches by teachers, school students and university students, who are also striking. Greece’s civil servants’ confederation, ADEDY, is supporting the mobilization. A broad coalition of unions is also participating.
Unions demand 1% of the state budget for culture
At the center of the strike is a demand to double government spending on culture, bringing it to 1% of the state budget.
“The limits have been exhausted,” union representatives said ahead of the strike, adding that they had requested a meeting with the ministry’s leadership.
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Despina Koutsoumba, president of the Unified Association of Ministry of Culture Employees, said public spending on culture currently accounts for less than 1% of the state budget.
“People often do not realize that the state spends less than 1% of the budget on culture,” she said. “Especially in a country with Greece’s cultural heritage, this cannot continue,” she added, pointing to the planned passage of the new state budget at the end of the year.
Koutsoumba described the demand to double state spending on culture as a common cause for workers across the sector and one that should also concern the ministry’s leadership.
Higher wages and permanent jobs among key demands
The unions are also seeking wage increases, the recruitment of permanent staff and permanent employment for contract workers who fill ongoing staffing needs. They say these measures are necessary to end job insecurity and the fear of dismissal.
Another central demand is an end to the outsourcing of Ministry of Culture projects to private companies. Unions oppose transferring responsibilities held by the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Resources and the Archaeological Service to corporations. They are also calling for Greece’s five major state museums to be returned to the Archaeological Service.
Workers are additionally demanding that hazardous-work allowances be extended to all professional groups and that previously recognized pay increases be paid.
Dimitris Koufovasilis, president of the Association of Temporary Archaeologists, said prolonged delays in wage payments across Greece had reached record levels.
He cited the construction of a dam and the reinforcement of the water supply network in Komotini, northeastern Greece, as an example, saying workers had been waiting a year and a half to receive wages owed to them.
Performing arts federation backs strike
The Panhellenic Federation of Performing Arts has also voiced its support for the Ministry of Culture unions’ strike.
The federation shares their demand that culture remain a public good and that state funding be secured at 1% of the national budget.