The Socialist Parliamentary Group rejected on Thursday in the Castilla-La Mancha Parliament, where it has a majority, the Non-Legislative Proposal of the Popular Party that aimed to change the management of the region’s museums and increase funding.
The deputy of the Popular Parliamentary Group, José Antonio Martín-Buro, denounced «irregularities» in the labor situation of museum workers and serious «structural and management deficiencies» in the facilities due to a lack of «museographic knowledge and professionalism» of those appointed by the Castilla-La Mancha Government.
«After ten years of García-Page’s government and internal successions and struggles in the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports, numerous changes in leadership have led regional museography to a dead end,» argued Martín-Buro, pointing to the Impulsa Foundation, in charge of managing various cultural centers and museums in the Autonomous Community, as «a revolving door center» for «political commissioners» without the necessary training to carry out the necessary reform and digitization plans for their visit and modernization.
The ‘popular’ deputy cited examples such as the Santa Cruz Museum in Toledo, the Science Museum of Castilla-La Mancha, or the Paleontological Museum, also showing photographs of the poor condition of Casa Dulcinea in El Toboso, closed for years due to the risk of collapse.
«In the last 25 years, museum workers’ salaries have only been increased twice to match the Minimum Interprofessional Salary. The IPC increase has not been applied to them,» criticized Martín-Buro, recalling the complaints from the Workers’ Commissions union that called for challenging the selection process for the head of the Paleontological Museum and the Science Museum or denouncing the neglect of the personnel. «They place party members and threaten workers instead of managing properly,» insisted the ‘popular’ deputy.
Meanwhile, Vox’s spokesperson, Iván Sánchez, joined the criticism, accusing Emiliano García-Page’s government of leaving museums «underfunded» and without the ability «to organize quality exhibitions, launch educational programs, or preserve their collections.»
Sanchez recalled the collapse of a cornice at La Merced Museum in Ciudad Real «due to lack of investment in maintenance» and criticized the Minister of Education, Culture, and Sports, Amador Pastor, for «condemning museums to oblivion» due to lack of interest. In response, the regional deputy called for «funding, planning, and commitment» to develop public-private partnerships, modernize facilities, and digitize centers.
On the other hand, Socialist deputy José Antonio Contreras defended the cultural management of Emiliano García-Page’s government, highlighting the increase in investment in museums and exhibitions from seven million in 2014 to over 13 million euros currently, as well as a 20% increase in the number of professionals working in these cultural centers.
Contreras criticized the Non-Legislative Proposal as «opportunistic at a specific moment when the tender for public services at the Science Museum of Castilla-La Mancha was indeed deserted,» a tender that the deputy emphasized has already been resumed.
Regarding the workers’ labor situation, the Socialist deputy assured that they have held dialogues with union representatives to adjust salaries to the state collective bargaining agreement with 2015 salary scales.
Contreras also highlighted that some museums in the region have a reduced regional budget because they share state ownership, making the State responsible for financing major renovations, such as the case of the Santa Cruz museum, which is awaiting a resolution of over 1.7 million euros.
The Socialist deputy defended the management by pointing out the increase in museum visits in the last seven years by over 700,000 and argued that the closure of Impulsa would result in the closure of several regional museums due to lack of funding. In response, the ‘popular’ Martín-Buro insisted that «the only ones who would end up on the street are the political commissioners appointed by the Socialist party.»
Finally, the Minister of Education and Culture, Amador Pastor, responded to the criticisms by denying threats to workers and reminding that the latest budget amendments presented by the ‘popular’ party implied the closure of museums «that you were defending a few minutes ago» or the dismissal of some staff members.
FUENTE