ROME – Nearly 50 employees of the Vatican Museums have initiated a labour dispute with the Holy See over what they allege are poor, unfair and unsafe working conditions, and which could result in the first-ever class action lawsuit brought against Pope Francis’s administration. At the same time, some local residents are fuming and say they are close to breaking point due to the noisy and inconsiderate behaviour of pilgrims and tourists.
First reported by Italian newspaper <em>Corriere della Sera</em>, the workers' complaint has been lodged by 49 out of roughly 700 employees of the Vatican Museums – comprising 47 custodians, an art restorer, and a bookshop employee – represented by Italian lawyer Laura Sgrò, who handles several other high-profile cases involving the Holy See.
In a petition sent to Cardinal Fernando Vèrgez Alzaga, president of the Government of the Vatican City State, Sgrò claimed that current rules cause “labour conditions undermining each worker’s health and dignity" and that "the poor management is evident".
Sgrò’s letter marks the first step in a mandatory conciliation process under Vatican law, which, should the process fail, could result in the first-ever class action suit being brought to a Vatican court. The Vatican has 30 days to respond with any measures they intend to take before judicial proceedings would be opened.
One of the key allegations in the petition is related to a dispute over income for hours during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many employees were required to stay home, “sequestered in case of illness and forced to return unpaid hours due to Covid".
Employees also complain about overtime, alleging they are at times required to work extra hours while receiving a lower salary for that time period. According to Sgrò’s letter, “the employer abuses this tool”.
There are also complaints about no distinction being made for employees who have seniority, and that workers “are the absolute asset of the manager, who uses them as he pleases" while "absolute discrimination reigns" amid "a perpetual state of chaos".
Workers claim they have also at times been penalised for taking time off to care for sick family members. Another problem stems from if workers are sick, they are required to stay home all day so their illness can be verified by medical personnel on behalf of their employer, as stipulated by Italian law. Some employees reported that they were sanctioned because the medical representative came to their house while they were at the doctor’s office.
Unemployment is also a concern, as in the Vatican, according to Sgrò, “there is no redundancy fund, there are no income support measures in the event of a crisis or phase of unemployment”. Vatican employees who find themselves without work do not have recourse to the Italian state’s unemployment program, as they were not employed by an Italian company, meaning any Vatican worker who finds themselves without a job apparently has no means of financial relief until another job is secured.
Complaints have also been made over a change to the way that workers accrue seniority. Previously it had happened automatically every two years, but the rate of increase was frozen between 2021 - 2023 in a decision that reportedly stemmed from Pope Francis.
Some employees also took issue with what they say is a lack of property safety measures at work, saying they are not granted “health, biological and physical risk compensation” despite being in direct contact with tens of thousands of people a day.
The workers claim that 25-30,000 people pass through the Vatican Museums on a daily basis, despite the official limit being capped at 24,000.
There are just two emergency exits in the museums and there are many rooms without air conditioning, something the workers say poses a serious health risk during hot summer days when the museums are overflowing, with the staff being responsible for administering first aid.
Rises in the temperature of the rooms due to the collective body heat of so many people also puts the conservation of works inside the museums at risk, they said, noting the lack of gendarmes present, which the workers claim has “created problems several times, with the custodians sometimes attacked by troublesome visitors”.
Employees also allege that the protocol for the metal detectors visitors must pass through before entering the museums is not being followed.
“The Pope talks about rights, we are considered simple commodities,” the workers said.
Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, has not yet publicly commented on the petition or the conciliation process.
The petition comes at a same time when another dispute is unfolding for the Vatican over its museums, with residents in a building directly across from the entrance to the Vatican Museums complaining about the noise.
Residents of the building have complained to both Italian police and Vatican authorities about groups of pilgrims and tourists who line up early in the morning, at times as early as 5 a.m., and use megaphones to communicate, or sing loudly while they wait to be let in.
In comments to Italian newspaper <em>Il Messaggero</em>, a woman identified as Ingrid who lives in the building said 17 families reside there “haven’t slept for months", adding: "We can’t take it anymore".
“I have lived in front of the museums for a long time, and I have never had problems like this,” she said, pinning most of the blame on South Korean groups “who line up to be the first to enter”.
The situation, she said, “has become unsustainable. They mess up every day. I often look out the window to ask them to stop, but they don’t listen to me. In fact, they often offend by making rude gestures.”
Tenants of the building, according to <em>Il Messaggero</em>, have so far made three complaints to Italian police and to the local municipality. While police have urged groups to keep their voices down, tenants say these requests have been unheeded.
Carmen, a 32-year-old lawyer who lives on the third floor of the building, was quoted as saying of the groups that “in their countries they behave like civilised people, then they arrive here and forget the rule of good manners”.
Residents have asked that signs be displayed along the street in different languages reminding groups to observe a respectful silence, however, officials have yet to take action and disagreed over whose responsibility it is.
According to Ingrid, Italian police have said “the responsibility lies with the Vatican Museums and not them,” while the Vatican has said it has no jurisdiction to do anything, since the road outside is technically Italian territory.
Michele, a building resident who has at times used a water gun on unruly tourists, said he is especially concerned as the hot summer months approach, during which he usually has his windows open.
“If we hear them well now that we keep them closed, what will happen in the summer?” he said.<br><br><em>Photos: Tourists wait to enter the Vatican museums during a heatwave, Rome, Italy, 17 July 2023. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images.)</em>
