All secondary employees in the cashier, surveillance and shop sectors have
organized to oppose the unbearable working conditions at the Vienna SecessionMuseum. For weeks WAS (Vienna Workers' Union) has been negotiating with themuseum's management, who have now started to ignore the demands of the employees.Therefore, we have called a rally against the violation of workers' rights infront of the Secession museum at Friedrichstraße 12, 1010 Vienna, during theopening of the last Secession exhibition. ---- The Vienna Secession Museum, whichmakes about 4,500 euros from tickets and store sales on a normal Saturday alone,which is sponsored by one of Austria's largest credit institutes (Erste Bank), along list of private sponsors and last but not least, by the Chamber of Workersitself, considers it normal and necessary to withhold the wages of its employees.Since the first quarantine in 2020, the secondary employees of the boxes,surveillance and store have accumulated the so-called "negative hours" every timethey could not report to work because the museum had to close due to the measuresfor the coronavirus.After the lockdown for the quarantine consumed the right to vacation for a wholeyear plus all the overtime of the employees, they were asked to work the hoursthey had "lost." Which meant months of 70 hours of work on average, in exchangefor a salary that did not reach 450 euros.To be clear: there is no legal basis for "negative hours", that is, they areillegal. As illegal as consuming the right to vacation for a whole year due to acrisis or even letting your employees accumulate so much overtime, withoutcompensating them financially or in free time.But all of this is, and was before the pandemic, a systemic problem. This illegalexploitation was justified with the excuse of "saving jobs", something that isnot true, since even so there were colleagues who lost their jobs and also afull-time position was replaced by workers with more precarious contracts. Inaddition, there is such a noticeable shortage of staff in the cashier,surveillance and store jobs that it is common and necessary to call employees whoare on vacation in case a colleague on sick leave has to be replaced, or evenhave employees who become ill call their colleagues to find their own replacement.In other words: the Vienna Secession Museum, with these sources of income plusthe support of the State during the years of the health crisis, not onlyconsidered it smart to burden the consequences of the pandemic on its weakest andmost profitable employees, who are Those who are most at risk of being infectedalso considered it smart to start selling all this as a favor, with theiremployees, with themselves and with the public.The Secession museum has managed to appear on a 50 cent coin, that's what workersare worth to them.The motto of the Secession: "Der Zeit ihre Kunst / Der Kunst ihre Freiheit" (Atthe time its art / To art its freedom) is pure cynicism in view of the months oflife that this institution has stolen from its employees. The imposing profile ofthe building, which since May 2020 more closely resembles the entrance to Moria,is literally a façade.The Secession, which likes to turn to its history to show itself as analternative and contrary to the bourgeoisie and conservatism, has betrayedeverything that its exhibitions are supposed to represent, in addition toconfirming the cliché that this type of art only interests to the rich.For us, as a union without hierarchies and horizontal, we are clear that theseconditions are unacceptable. Even more so because the Secession has been stubbornup to now and does not want to admit the demands of the secondary workers.Our first rally in front of the Vienna Secession takes place during the openingof the new exhibition. Many important people from art and culture will be inattendance, and it is the first exhibition to open under the new board ofdirectors. We do not accept the continuous exploitation of the weakest by the artmarket, especially when even the minimum legal standards are not respected. Wecall on all class-conscious workers to support us.There is also the possibility of protesting by phone against exploitation in theSecession, from Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00.If they touch one of us, they touch us all!https://iwa-ait.org/node/999_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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