Chain Table Arts Professionals in Cultural Education and Amateur Arts makes proposals for fair pay in room letter

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The chain table Arts Professionals in Cultural Education and Amateur Arts consists of a broad group of workers. It also includes work providers and mediators within education and leisure. Together they are working within the chain table on concrete practical tools for fair pay. Via external chairman Bertien Minco, the chain table has sent a letter to the Lower House for the debate on June 29 on the Basic Principles for the Cultural Basic Infrastructure 2025-2028 (BIS) of OCW State Secretary Gunay Uslu. It calls attention to the situation of those working in these two subsectors. The letter was also sent to the VNG.

Diversity in expressions and participants

According to the Kamerbrief, the professionals in cultural education and amateur art are pre-eminently and traditionally in society those who are present within the school, at the out-of-school and child care centers, in neighborhood or village, during church services and on the street corner. With their profession in the visual arts, circus, dance, film, photography, literature, music, theater and the like. These workers are there during the day, as well as in the evenings and weekends indiscriminately for everyone through teaching, conducting, directing, coaching and the like. From farm band to brass band. From drum lessons to deejaying. From mixed choir to gospel choir. From classical ballet to k-pop. From writing classes to spoken word. From drama club to theater sports. In short, arts activities with a diversity of expressions and participants but always with the same message: the cultural and social development, opportunities and inclusion of children and adults.

Cultural education and amateur arts local grassroots players

Many local institutions have disappeared in recent years due to municipal budget cuts. In the local cultural extracurricular basic infrastructure, there is now only a legally guaranteed place for public libraries and broadcasters. But if this base is not put in order more broadly, an important element of the cement in society will disappear, there will be an additional hurdle to equality of opportunity, and the top for our country will also fall out of the picture.

Lifelong development is encouraged from the state: cultural participation, cultural education and amateur art are part of this. So states the parliamentary letter. And to speak with the LKCA director: ‘Furthermore, it is striking that the Letter of Principles does not mention the importance of cultural participation and amateur art.

When discussing culture and its infrastructure, I often hear consultants, policymakers and administrators say that they are committed to getting or keeping the basics in order. But doesn’t that base begin precisely with cultural participation? Indeed; they are preconditions for cultural life.

“Without a broad base, no excellent summit. “

Proposals for quick wins: fair pay in current policies state secretary Uslu

In its parliamentary letter, the Chain Table makes proposals for fair pay in policy measures in which the State Secretary is already involved. Specifically mentioned are: the subsidies via the Fund for Cultural Participation; the Healthy and Active Living Agreement/GALA including the broad impulse for combined functions including culture coaches; cultural covenants with the co-governments and accountability of the schools in the framework of the new law ‘Simplification of Financing Primary Education’. But, according to the chain table, attention must also be paid to fair pay through the General Framework for Intergovernmental Cultural Relations between the governments; the compensation by the State to the municipalities with a provisional amount of € 70 million per year and the relationship with poverty policy.

The chain table will soon make its presence felt again

The chain table has reported to the Chamber that it will hear from them again soon. It has engaged independent agency Social Finance Matters, also a fair pay adviser to a number of funds, to make concrete proposals. First of all, it has mapped the salaries and fees in collective bargaining agreements and guidelines for cultural educators inside and outside culture for comparison purposes via a so-called reference framework.

It then provided a survey on the use and compensation of hours worked: the overwhelming response of more than 1,000 working people shows that the issue is enormously alive in this sub-sector. On the basis of all this, the agency and the chain table are developing well-considered and objective rate guidelines for the various types of work in cultural education and amateur art. Externally shareable proposals are expected this fall.

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