In Crisis, Rio Art Museum Issues Termination Notice to All Employees

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The employees of MAR, the Rio Art Museum, were notified that as of Monday, November 11th, they are within the mandatory prior notice period. The dismissal plan may affect all employees, but there is the potential for reversal of this scenario should the City Hall effect payments in arrears.

Although the exhibitions and educational programs are sustained by funding and tax incentive laws, the employees’ payroll is financed by the city government, which has not transferred these funds since September to Odeon Institute, the civic organization that has been running the museum for seven years.

Late last week, MAR’s cultural director said he was resigning from his position. Evandro Salles resigned from the museum after criticizing Rio’s city government, which he blamed for a “profound dismantling of cultural and artistic facilities”.

Inaugurated by then-mayor Eduardo Paes in 2013 as part of the revitalization process of the city’s port area, the museum is the target of a dispute between Mayor Marcelo Crivella and the Roberto Marinho Foundation, Paes’ partner in building the museum.

Last Friday, November 8th, the Odeon Institute sent a formal letter to the city’s Municipal Secretariat of Culture, announcing that it would begin demobilization actions on Monday, “including proceeding with prior notice of dismissal to its employees, for the protection of their labor rights,” the institution’s press office reported.

“The beginning of the demobilization process occurs after consecutive delays in the payment of portions of the management contract, including the portion for September that has not yet been deposited. As a result, there are no more financial means to keep the facility operating”.

Source: Folha de S.Paulo