
Issue No 1		19 February 1999

News

Museum of Contemporary Art calls time

By Steve Turner - PSA Senior Industrial Officer

Workers at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney have taken Andy Warhol's classic line that in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes and given it a dark twist.

The PSA members have closed the Museum at 3 pm on four consecutive Fridays in January and February for what they have proclaimed as "15 Minutes of Shame".

The move followed the Museum's Board and Executive retrenchment of 14 staff and the deletion of a further 6 positions from an already very slim staff of 48.

The restructure was announced on 14 January to take effect from 12 February, 1999.

The Museum further indicated it will not renew the contracts or replace the seven staff who recently left the organisation.

Their reasoning? Financial necessity.

The 15 minutes of shame protest mirrors the time frame which staff were individually allocated to advise them whether or not their job had been deleted.

The restructure moves were made without any prior consultation with the members concerned or the PSA.

PSA requests to discuss the matter were continually refused. Subsequent pleas for a meeting with the Board including the Executive Chairman and full disclosure of the Museum's financial position also fell on deaf ears.

The union and its members in the area believe that the Museum simply will not function effectively when the ill advised restructure goes through.

They have requested that the restructure be withdrawn and that a Planning Committee be established to look at the exhibition program for the year.

The PSA has taken the matter to the Industrial Relations Commission to obtain an award. The parties appeared on 3 and 9 February.

A further application to prevent the dismissal of 21 staff went to compulsory conference on Tuesday, 9 February before Justice Schmidt. These proceedings led to a resolution on the industrial matters after 7 hours of tense negotiation.

The PSA withdrew its application after staff were offered positions in the new structure and commitments were given to negotiate and consult on other areas that were to be restructured. Management agreed to an extension until June to allow this to occur.

Of great concern was the Museum management's deletion of the position of Cinemateque Project Officer and the apparent abandonment of this project. Negotiations were unable to save this project leader.

A PSA sponsored rally was held outside the Museum on 12 February to highlight the situation. This rally focussed on the changing artistic direction of the MCA, the horrific way that staff were treated during this process and a call for a continued commitment to the Cinemateque Project.

Another major concern to the PSA was the typical reaction to cut staff to meet a financial problem not of the staff's making. The PSA will lobby the University of Sydney (as owner of the Museum) and the Government to help with funding.

  See also : PSA Website

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  Issue 1 contents

Interview: Michael Costa
The new Labor Council secretary explains factions, frictions and how to save the union movement.

Unions: Getting Under The Skin
The cash-in-transit industry - known for it's vulnerability to violence and theft - comes under scrutiny as the industry moves to a new "soft skin" operation

History: Remembering the Labor Press
Workers Online is just the latest in a long tradition of publishing by working people and their organisations.

Review: Powderfinger's Political Power Pop
We look at a band who still reckon they can mix music with a bit social commentary.

Campaign Diary: Hartcher Chokes On His Own Uglies
No-one would have been more surprised by last week�s announcement of the Coalition industrial relations policy than its spokesman on the issue, Chris Hartcher.

» The Overworked - We're Sick, Anti-Social and Sexually Frustrated

» Geeks Blow Up

» The Greatest Act on Earth

» Museum of Contemporary Art calls time

» MEAA Goes Country!