Since April 2020, Suisseculture Sociale has been distributing Corona emergency aid to artists. The sponsor of the social fund of the umbrella organization of Swiss cultural associations has so far paid out a total of 32 million francs. At the end of the year that will be over.
Many cultural workers therefore find themselves in a difficult position. A conversation looking for ways out.
SRF: 600 households and people from the cultural sector will be dependent on social assistance from January 2023, writes Suisseculture Sociale. What is the economic situation of this group?
Nicole Pfister Fetz: Our study from last year showed that 60 percent of cultural workers earn a maximum of CHF 40,000 a year. That’s very little.
They also receive hardly any old-age provision from the AHV. Many cultural workers were already living in extremely precarious circumstances before the pandemic. The Corona crisis has now exacerbated the situation.
Not only the economic situation is precarious, but also the psychological one.
Many were in shock during the lockdown and basically lived from month to month. After the measures were lifted, some were able to generate income again. For others, however, an enormous despair has set in. Not only the economic situation is precarious, but also the psychological one.
Your organization has supported several thousand people, in addition to compensation for loss of earnings, loss of earnings and any compensation from the AHV. Now some cultural workers have to claim social assistance. Are there no more culture-specific connection solutions?
No, not in the sense of Covid support measures. There are a few private sector offers and support in the area of emergency aid for cultural workers that fall through the cracks. Suisseculture Sociale also has its own fund, which we finance from donations.
You have to do justice to the atypical working conditions in the cultural sector.
And there are also the welfare foundations of the collecting societies Pro Litteris, Suisa or Swiss Image. But no culture-specific additional measures, similar to the integration programs for unemployment insurance, are being considered.
The Federal Office of Culture is currently working on the new cultural message. Does it also consider the living conditions of cultural workers?
The working world of cultural workers is an important topic in the discussions. You have to take a closer look at the atypical working conditions of cultural workers and examine how people can be optimally supported in the future. This support must do justice to the complex working conditions in the cultural sector.
Raphael Zehnder conducted the interview.