Project minimum wage

Since December 2008, representatives of TanzRaumBerlin Network, Laft Berlin e.V. and Tanzbüro Berlin have been collaborating in a workgroup to deal with the cultural budget of the Berlin senate. The goal of this workgroup is to increase the budget for supporting theaters and theater / dance groups organized according to private law in order to introduce a minimum level for honorariums within this support system.
In April 2009, the workgroup composed a statement describing the situation for Berlin artists active in the independent dance and theater scene and presenting the following demands:

• Correction of the wage conditions, which are below minimum wage, of artists supported by public funds
• The setting of the current budget for Konzeptförderung (concept support) independent of the loss of individual institutions/groups who receive their own budget.
• The provision of additional funds for the new support program, Einstiegsförderung (Entry Support).

Based on the market basket from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, living expenses for artists have been calculated with monthly basic costs amounting to EUR 2,000 (gross) for KSK members and EUR 2,300 (gross) for non-members of the KSK. This requires an hourly-wage of EUR 12.08 for KSK members for a forty-hour week and EUR 15.95 for non-members. A sixty-hour week produces an hourly wage of EUR 8.05 for KSK members and EUR 10.63 for non-members. These wages could be used in the future as orientation for setting a minimum honorarium level for recipients of public funding.
Based on these calculations and assuming at least a continuous number of supported projects for the future, the total budget for independent groups in the performative arts should be at least six million euros (not including the budget for Konzeptförderung [concept support]).

The workgroup considers increasing the budget for support by at least six million euros to be an urgent precondition for the long-overdue implementation of a minimum honorarium level for those making dance and theatre. The workgroup will continue working on implementing these demands.

Support the request by signing now!

Please enter your name and your mail adress. Your mail address is only used for signature verification, it will not be displayed nor used for any other purpose.
The petition is addressed to those responsible for Berlins cultural policy and is intended to give continued emphasis to our demands.

Sign here – scroll to bottom of page