Experts at Bulgaria’s National Museum of History tooke part in a nationwide protest organised by the Trade Union of Museum and Gallery employees, Culture Independent Trade Union Federation, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB), the Museums and Galleries Trade Union, the National Culture Fund, and the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa, the trade unions announced.
“We will not close the doors of the museum on this day but will keep them wide open for everyone who thinks the Bulgarian cultural heritage is the most significant national spiritual wealth,” they said.
“We will protest by symbolically “arresting” Bozhidar Dimitrov, Director of the National Museum of History, in his office; by putting “protest” ribbons on the lapels of clothes; by adopting slogans and presenting posters with our demands; by playing patriotic songs and marches at the National Museum of History; by showing in a video what the damages to our work would be if our demands are not complied with; by showing how we manage to preserve cultural artifacts and present them to the Bulgarian and world public in a respectable way despite the lack of [financial] resources and low salaries; by telling about the responsible work of our specialists, who studied and popularised monuments that are emblematic for Bulgarian history and monuments,” the trade unionists commented.
In his words, “on-site” support will be lent at about 12:00 p.m. by CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov, CITUB Vice President Valentin Nikiforov as well as by Dimitar Manolov, President of the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa.
The trade union leaders will also meet with “arrestee” Bozhidar Dimitrov.
Protesting representatives of cultural institutions in coastal Burgas handed an official open letter containing their demands to District Governor Valcho Cholakov and Yordanka Ananieva, Deputy Mayor of Burgas Municipality, Radio FOCUS – Burgas reported.
Zdravko Toshkov, chair of the Burgas-based structure of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB), expressed his gratitude to the District Governor and the Deputy Mayor for receiving them.
Toshkov remarked the group which was about to hand the letters was composed of employees of libraries, museums, community centres, and galleries.
CITUB Vice President Chavdar Hristov was also present at the meeting.
Zlatina Stoycheva from the P. K. Yavorov Regional Library said they had come to ask for cooperation and support in the face of Burgas Municipality and the District Administration of Burgas.
She commented they insisted on an increase in the financial resources for the maintenance of the regional libraries countrywide.
Plamena Kirova from the Regional Museum of History of Burgas said they indeed worked in harmony with the local municipal and district administration.
She handed the demands not only on behalf of the employees of the Regional Museum of History but on behalf of all cultural institutions countrywide.
“We want the money the state allocates for culture to be increased,” she noted.
“We work in the twenty-first century. Let our cultural institutions reach the twenty-first century. We cannot do without one another – without galleries, or community centres, or libraries and museums. Each of us relies on the rest of our colleagues,” Ms Kirova remarked.
After presenting the demands, she expressed her hope there would be results.
“It is madness people who work at the Bulgarian museums to receive BGN 450-470 salary”. That is what Plamen Sabev, director of the Historical Museum in the town Popovo said in an interview for FOCUS News Agency commenting on the national protest of employees in museums, galleries and libraries and the preservation of the cultural heritage of our country.
Mr Sabev was adamant that the attitude towards museum staff is offensive.
“These are people with university degrees, self-educating themselves and engaged in this activity round-the-clock because they have expertise in mapping functions, protection, conservation in everything connected with national cultural heritage. This is not the heritage of a separate museum or the heritage of individual municipalities, and of the whole country. There are requirements for language proficiency etc, everyone can see what the requirements for a regular museum curator are,” Sabev said.
According to him, as of January 1, when the minimum wage becomes BGN 420 will become even more difficult to motivate people to work in museums.