Mr. Bondi
Minister of Culture of Italy
Paris, May 5th, 2010
Dear Honourable Minister
FIM and its members are extremely concerned by the foreseeable consequences of the decree-law dated May 1,
2010, which we believe represents a major threat to culture and, more specifically, to musicians working in Opera
theatres and symphony orchestras.
We therefore urge you to amend this decree before it is turned into a law, for the following reasons:
• It abrogates two thirds of law 800/67 that regulates the sector, without introducing substitution provisions. This
all the more unfortunate, since this law is the cornerstone of cultural education in Italy.
• It impedes direct negotiations between trade unions and employers about the renewal of the national
agreement. According to the decree, the Culture Minister would personally appoint the trade union to take part in
the negotiating process, while also deciding upon the content of the new national agreement. Should the
negotiation not be successful within 365 days, the second level of contract will be automatically cut by 50%. This
provision is in clear contradiction with the constitutional right of free collective bargaining;
• It prohibits most external musical activities of the employees, which makes sense from neither an artistic nor
an educational perspective. As long it does not conflict with their work in the orchestra, musicians in operas and
symphony orchestras should remained authorized to pursue other artistic activities, so as to continue improving
their professional skills or/and transmit their orchestral experience to young musicians and help them become
good professionals;
• It freezes recruitment until 2013, including for vacant positions, which is a matter of great concern in relation to
job opportunities in the sector.
We remain convinced that your intention is not to harm culture and the musicians in Italy. Therefore, we urge you
once again to renounce this defective legislation, thus showing that artists are being heard and understood, and
sending a positive signal to the entire creative community in Europe.
Yours sincerely,
Benoît Machuel
General Secretary
The International Federation of Musicians (FIM), founded 1948, is the only body representing musicians’ unions worldwide. It
counts members in about 70 countries covering all regions of the world. For many years now, FIM has been recognised as
an NGO (international nongovernmental organisation) in the eyes of diverse international authorities and in particular WIPO
(World Intellectual Property Organisation), Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), the
ILO (International Labour Office), the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the
Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
Alongside the International Federation of Actors (FIA) and UNI-Media and Entertainment (UNI-MEI), FIM is a member of the
International Arts and Entertainment Alliance (IAEA) and of the Council of Global Unions.