VIDEO | Cinema workers in the square: “The situation is dramatic”
"Thousands of workers in the sector are currently without employment, but above all without any future prospects due to the management of ministerial decrees regarding the cinema-audiovisual sector"
ROME – Workers of the cinema and audiovisual industry take to the streets to bring to the attention of the institutions and public opinion “the dramatic situation in which the sector finds itself >”. Gathered at Santi Apostoli, in Rome, under the slogan #siamoaititolidicoda which gives its name to a newly formed committee, the organizers explain that “thousands of workers in the sector are currently without employment, but above all without any future prospects due to the management of ministerial decrees regarding the cinema-audiovisual sector”.
During the demonstration, a delegation moved towards the Roman College to deliver an appeal to the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano. Among the requests, economic support from the State in the face of the delay in issuing the decrees and consequent slowdowns in production activities which entail “a serious loss both in economic terms and in terms of contribution year to the pension purposes”, the protection in both bureaucratic and legal terms for the category currently considered “occasional and discontinuous, without protection of labor rights and without a national contract”.
And again, an “urgent review and activation of the decrees implementation measures to allow the entire sector to quickly enter a production phase”, in addition to the resolution of pension contribution problems.
Present in the square were the associations that bring together production personnel, directors’ assistants and edition secretaries, the Chiaroscuro collective, cinema painters and decorators, filming and sound technicians, Agi Spettacolare, the electricians association and train drivers, rental companies and suppliers.
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Back in the square, the delegation explained that they had met Stefano Lanna, from the minister’s secretariat. “He was available – said those present at the meeting – he openly declared to us his willingness to start a discussion with the workers to improve the implementing decrees, but he told us that these still require technical deadlines which are not quantifiable . Now, however, there is total availability to discuss issues that do not directly concern the Ministry of Culture: we are talking about social security, contributions and the emergency situation. Our goal is to start writing as early as tomorrow to undertake this dialogue as quickly as possible because we cannot wait any longerWe will not stop, we will return to the streets if we do not see our rights as workers recognised”, they finally said, receiving applause from the square.