Michel Draguet will leave the management of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts on 30 April following a meeting between trade unions and management of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts (RMFBA) on Monday, the RMFBA board announced,
An internal investigation will be conducted, followed by an action plan after several employees of the Belgian Museum of Fine Arts denounced on Friday in an open letter the behaviour of RMFBA Director Michel Draguet. At the beginning of December, 31 of the 176 employees sent a letter to the Secretary of State for Science Policy Thomas Dermine (PS), who has political responsibility for the federal museum.
The letter mentioned, among other things, “bad management”, a lack of “a clear vision”, regular threats, intimidation and harassment, while working conditions were described as “appalling”, with a rise in cases of exhaustion, burn-out and departures.
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“After an overview of the situation, it was decided to commission Empreva [the joint prevention service of the civil service] to carry out a psycho-social survey focusing on the 49 members of the operational directorate for public services. This written survey will be carried out confidentially”, the Management Board of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts announced.
A steering committee comprising union representatives and members of the management will accompany the implementation of the methodology and ensure the follow-up of the action plan decided on the basis of Empreva’s recommendations.
“We invite the staff members concerned to express themselves freely within this framework, which guarantees them the strictest confidentiality”, concluded the board.
