On May 19, during the annual Museum Night event in Warsaw, members of ZSP held an informational action about budget cuts in cultural institutions, loss of jobs and repression of one worker who was involved in action to save his work place.
A few cultural institutions in Warsaw will probably be liquidated because of budget cuts, including the Technical Museum, the Warsaw Chamber Opera and the Praha Cinema. We are in solidarity with the workers of these institutions, who are fighting against their closure.
In the case of the Praha Cinema, a publically controlled institution located near the offices of ZSP, there has been a good mobilization in its defense, with lots of support from local residents. This has saved it from closure, but the future of the cinema is not clear. Additionally, one worker from the cinema was fired because of his role in the protests. All those involved condemn the actions of the management and support the worker and are ready to make new protests.
The workers of the 137-year old Technical Museum and the Chamber Opera are asking people to support their efforts to get special status and funding so that they can remain open. Thousands of people visited the Technical Museum last night, where we informed of the dangers to these institutions and the repression at the cinema, asking people to support, sign online petitions, protest, etc.
Two cultural institutions in Warsaw's Palace of Culture, the Dramatic Theatre and the Technical Museum, are in danger because of budget cuts but outside the Palace, people could also see how the city is building, at huge expense, a special zone for football fans for the Euro 2012. We also invited people to protest the city's policies with us when the Euro opens on June 8.