Racism, sexism, homophobia and broken promises. A lack of “fairness and fundamental justice”, and a burnout and depression of the staff under the rule of “terror” of the director Michel Draguet. This is how workers at the Cinquantenaire Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels described the institution’s “toxic” working environment in a letter to Secretary of State for Science Policy Thomas Dermine.
“We preach in the desert, our leaders turn a deaf ear as we survive in general malaise,” proclaimed the letter, reported by the French-speaking Belgian channel. RTBF and in English by Brussels timetables.
The complaints against Draguet first surfaced in December in RTBF, triggering a full-scale investigation into the museum and its management. Empreva, a city agency that protects the workforce, sent the museum a 28-page report on the psychosocial risks museum staff faced under Draguet’s leadership.
But instead of patiently waiting to see what happens to the report, staff felt compelled to further expose the director, who has served four terms at the helm of the institution since 2005. (Draguet’s post is renewed again this year. )
The letter accused Draguet of making “one-sided decisions”, having “contempt for staff and heritage” and engaging in inappropriate behavior including “sexist and racist comments” and “naughty” remarks. There were about twenty grievances in total.
“Obviously I’m not a perfect guy,” Draguet told RTBF. “I probably speak directly and it’s true that when someone does something stupid, maybe I say so. I regularly use humor, and it can be misunderstood. When we’re around the table, when we’re among colleagues, I certainly had to do sometimes regrettable things.
An anonymous employee described these interactions at RTBF as “aggressive and rather brutal”, recalling four or five separate instances where Draguet made remarks about the Nazis and the Second World War to a German-born employee, as well as comments “problems” on women.
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