- The 18 educators and counselors subcontracted by Guggenheim through the Manpower Group have set strike days for August and September. They will demand better and more stable working conditions. They denounce that their “professional category” is not recognized and that they have a basic hourly wage of 5.35 euros gross, 12.30 euros at best.
The strikes will last one day, as educators and counselors do not see enough of what the company has promised verbally. In other words, they will consider their demands at the end of August and the beginning of September, as explained by the company’s directors to the workers and representatives of the unions at the meeting held on August 3.
Manpower’s contract with the Guggenheim Museum expires on September 30 and strikers have called for the establishment of surrogacy to guarantee their position in subsequent competitions. With the subrogation the company should keep its current employees.
They also demand better wages and recognition of their high professional qualifications. It is recalled that for work on public holidays and at night they do not receive any bonuses and that the contract does not include seniority.
The strike dates will be August 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 26, 30 and September 1 and the workers warn that they do not rule out an indefinite strike. In addition to Manpower, the museum’s board of trustees has also been held responsible for the situation. It is composed of: The Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and Solomon R. The Guggenheim Foundation.