This Monday, the PKP requested a hearing of the Minister of Culture in Parliament to discuss the Statute for Cultural Professionals and Support for the Arts, given the government’s lack of response to the needs of the sector.
In a request addressed to the chairman of the parliamentary committee for culture, media, youth and sports, the socialist Luis Grasse, the PCP refers to “extraordinary dissatisfaction” with the Statute of Cultural Workers.
“The truth is that the Statute of Cultural Professionals does not meet the needs of workers in the sector, deceiving expectations,” said a statement signed by communist parliament leader Paula Santos.
The PKP emphasizes that the number of workers registered in this statute is “decreasing”, speaking of a value of “less than three thousand”, and points out that “delays are evident”, with “requests since January of this year for support for the suspension of activities, which until still no answer.”
“This was not due to a lack of warning. The PKP drew attention to the fact that the Statute of Cultural Professionals will not fight instability and is not an instrument that guarantees the rights and social protection of cultural workers,” he emphasizes.
The PCP is also considering competitions for ongoing support of the arts, given that the “exclusion of numerous entries” from these competitions was because the funds allocated were “manifestly insufficient” and not because the entries were not eligible.
“The PCP has advocated for increased funding for the Arts Directorate General to ensure that all eligible applications are supported. The government rejected this decision, leaving dozens of structures with suitable applications without funding,” it emphasizes.
Speaking specifically about the Project Support Program, the PKP emphasizes that the Government has “invited” entities to apply”, but the program is already overdue, since the deadline for its execution is from June 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024.
“Tenders are behind schedule by about three months (they were supposed to open in October and open in December), and we are already in the month of June, and there is not even a preliminary list,” it says.
The party also cites that these delays “could be added with another two months for the signing of the contract and the transfer of funds” and emphasizes that there are “a large number of candidates” for the program, which “was already expected, given that the structures were left without support in competitions for the constant support of art.
“Given the large number of candidates and the tight budget, the fears and fears that many candidates will be excluded are great,” the party says.
In this context, the PCP is demanding a hearing from Minister of Culture Pedro Adão y Silva “to clarify support for the arts and the Statute of Cultural Professionals.”