Ninaj: SNG Still Fully Operational, Resignation Numbers Misleading

Bratislava, January 30 (TASR) - The Slovak National Gallery (SNG) is still operating, and the departure of some its employees, as announced on Monday (January 27) won't jeopardise this, SNG general director Jaroslav Ninaj has told TASR. At the same time, Ninaj revised the number of resignation notices downwards. "As of Wednesday (January 29), the gallery has recorded the departure of 49 employees in total, so claims about the mass departure of 100 employees are purpose-built and misleading," he stressed, at the same time admitting that more employees might file resignation notices in the upcoming days. Ninaj stated that the gallery intended to cut its workforce anyway. "The previous management at the end of last year prepared a list of 42 employees whose dismissal would not disrupt the functioning of the gallery and would also reduce the huge level of over-employment at the gallery via streamlining its operations, cost-saving measures and reducing the gallery's budget for 2025," said Ninaj. He emphasised that finding replacements for some of the employees that have left is a priority for his team. "We already have candidates for several key posts," he said. In addition to recruiting new staff, he also plans to reorganise internal processes. Ninaj declared that he's striving to adhere to the original exhibition plan for 2025. He rejected claims that the gallery management or Culture Ministry will interfere in the organisation of exhibitions that are already being prepared and denied reports that several foreign partners have withdrawn. "SNG has officially registered the withdrawal of a single partner from Poland," he said. Ninaj accused the gallery's loudest opponents from the ranks of current and former employees of engaging in coordinated activities aimed at discrediting the institution and its management. He views this as a result of the politicisation of part of the cultural community. More than a hundred SNG employees announced at a news conference on Monday that they were filing resignation notices in response to the moves made by Ninaj and to the Culture Ministry's idleness when it comes to calls to put a stop to the incompetent steps being taken by the gallery's management, which have damaged the way in which it operates and its reputation. The dissatisfied employees see the most critical issues at SNG in changes to its organisational structure, illegal procedures while creating new employment contracts and the collapse of the exhibition plan for 2025. Several senior SNG employees filed resignation notices for the same reasons in early January. ko/df