City council confirms theatre concept

The concept provides for an additional subsidy increase of around one million euros per year from the city to maintain the municipal theatres as a five-division theatre and at the same time to secure the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra's status as an A-list orchestra. The existing venues are also secured.

The prerequisite for this is that the in-house collective agreements that expire at the end of the year are continued in a modified form and that a proposed job model is implemented that provides for reductions in various areas. This would make it possible to avoid redundancies for operational reasons. The City Council resolution instructed the General Director to enter into negotiations on new in-house wage agreements and to present the results for a decision by the December meeting of the City Council.

"I understand the employees' desire for a return to the industry-wide wage agreement," said Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig. "However, with the present concept, we have succeeded in preserving the five-division theatre as a whole and securing the status of the Robert Schumann Philharmonie as an A-list orchestra. Dr Dittrich has thus presented a plan that focuses on responsibility for the entire orchestra under difficult conditions."

The conditions to be negotiated in the in-house labour agreements vary depending on the division. The job reductions are to be achieved by means of retirement and part-time models. It is also planned to agree wage increases of 1 per cent per year in all areas over the term of the agreement.

The concept in detail

In the orchestra, which accounts for the majority of personnel costs, it is proposed to reduce the number of members from 99 to 86. A part-time model is agreed in the in-house collective agreement, in which the 99 musicians initially share the 86 positions. The collective agreement classification as an A orchestra will be retained. In addition, one to three concert or semi-staged performances will replace fully staged performances.

In the non-artistic area, it is planned to reduce the weekly working hours by 10 per cent to 36 hours. Ten positions will be given a temporary status (not to be refilled), and a target position plan is also planned here. Implementation is to be achieved through natural fluctuation.

In the artistic area, the allowance under the company collective agreement, which can be compared with a 13th month's salary, will be reduced according to a social scale. Employees with a minimum salary (1650 euros) are not affected by this; the allowance is cancelled completely for higher salaries. A total of seven positions will be cancelled. Here, too, the realisation is to take place through natural fluctuation. The size of the choir is to be reduced from 44 to 40 singers.

In addition, the budget is to be relieved by improving income. A "quality surcharge" will be levied for particularly high-quality performances, for example for premieres in musical theatre or productions that are particularly well received beyond the region. Tickets for young people, students etc. are exempt from price increases.

In addition, the General Director is instructed to hold talks on collaborations with other theatres, which will show results from 2016.

Overall, 90 per cent of Chemnitz Municipal Theatres' funding comes from public subsidies. Two thirds of this is financed from the municipal budget. One third comes from the cultural area funding of the Free State, which the City of Chemnitz - which decides on the distribution within the city - pays out to the theatre to an overwhelming extent. Due to declining cultural area funding in recent years, all cost increases in the cultural sector and especially at the theatre have been borne by the city. The city's annual subsidy to the theatre currently amounts to around 25.3 million euros.

In order to implement the concept, the city's subsidy would have to increase by between 800,000 and one million euros annually over the term of the programme to 26.15 million (2014), 26.26 million (2015), 26.31 million (2016), 26.31 million (2017), 26.23 million (2018).

The current in-house collective agreements end on 31 December 2013. The expiry of the in-house collective agreements would increase personnel costs alone by EUR 2.1 million to EUR 25.2 million. It was already apparent in the 2013 business plan that the previous subsidies, including the liquidity reserve, would not be sufficient to ensure the theatre's operations and solvency throughout 2014.

(For details, see also the press release dated 21 August 2013).