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The petition criticizes “low overtime pay, as well as health and safety risks, due to the reduction of security personnel in popular tourist attractions, to save costs.”
Lawyer Laura Screw, who represents the petitioners, told reporters: “I believe other workers will join the complaint, so that a mandatory reconciliation process begins with the Vatican, which does not allow unions.”
She added: “If the reconciliation goes poorly, we will go to court.”
According to the petition, the workers demand “more transparency in the promotion process, the return of seniority bonuses, and the establishment of a sick leave structure closer to the norm in Italy.”
Under Vatican business rules, the institution has 30 days to respond to the complaint. If it is not dealt with within that period, the claim will be submitted to the Vatican Labor Office for negotiation, with the possibility of establishing a tribunal.
However, Scroo said, “the office is not obligated to look into the case, leaving employees with no legal recourse.”
The newspaper “Art News” explained that in previous cases related to working conditions in the Vatican Museums, “lawyers proposed filing complaints with the European Court of Human Rights. To escape the central bureaucracy of the Catholic Church, knowing that it has not signed the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The Vatican centers, an important source of income, are still recovering from the financial fallout from the pandemic-induced closure. Earlier this year, the cost of an entrance ticket to museums rose from €17 to €20.
Alessandra Signorelli
Amandine Lhoste
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