The Coalition of Cultural Activists supports the demands of librarians and calls for a reform of remuneration for the entire cultural sphere.
This is stated on the coalition's website.
The Coalition of Cultural Activists supported a petition by librarians calling for an increase in their pay.
“The situation where qualified specialists receive salaries lower than the state-established minimum (through the system of job salaries and tariff scales) is unacceptable and threatens the complete destruction of the country's institutional memory,” the statement says.
At the same time, activists stressed that the problem is much broader. In their opinion, it is critically necessary to review the wages of museum, club, theater, and philharmonic employees, especially in the regions .
“The cultural sphere cannot rely solely on enthusiasm – it is a matter of national security and preserving identity,” the coalition noted.
On the air of “United News” on ICTV, Halyna Hryhorenko, a member of the Coalition of Cultural Activists and former Deputy Minister of Culture, noted: “The wage reform is one of the components of the institutional reform of the cultural sphere, which is included in the 2030 Cultural Development Strategy.”
According to her, currently, cultural workers receive the minimum wage, which currently amounts to 8,647 hryvnias, and taking into account taxes, employees receive about 6,600 hryvnias “in cash”.
The coalition believes that the first step should be taken by the Ministry of Culture, becoming “an advocate for the industry before the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance.”
What preceded
Librarians created a petition on January 29, stating that “their work remains undervalued in both material and social aspects.” In particular, they noted that their salaries have not been reviewed since the beginning of the war, despite inflation.
Among other demands, library workers appealed to the President and the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to increase salaries at least twice and introduce annual salary indexation.