The manager of the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra (OFM), Juan Carlos Ramírez, has presented his resignation weeks after a Labor inspection detected up to 50 musicians without Social Security registration between the years 2021 and 2024. In a brief statement in which does not even mention his name, the Malaga City Council has reported that the head of the public institution has resigned from his position “for personal reasons.” In the text they also emphasize that the orchestra – which depends 50% on the Junta de Andalucía and the Malaga town council – will launch a public call to fill the vacancy. Neither of the two public administrations has wanted to assess the situation.
The move comes just two months after a Labor inspection sanctioned the orchestra. An inspector went to the OFM rehearsal facility last November after complaints made by the works council about what they considered to be a situation of false self-employment, of which they had previously notified management. Twenty of the group’s 92 structural positions were not covered, so the orchestra needed specific reinforcements for the concerts in its annual program, according to the workers. The artists who occupied these places signed an invoice instead of a labor contract. “And so they charged half,” claimed the musicians, who considered it a fraud. Other times the artists did have a contract, but it was valid only from Monday to Friday and they were released on Saturdays and Sundays, when they rested.
The inspectors confirmed that, indeed, between 2021 and 2024 there were 50 musicians without registration with Social Security and they also found registrations during working days and cancellations on days of rest. That is why the Ministry of Labor agency sanctioned the Orquesta Ciudad de Málaga Consortium, the company that directs the destiny of the OFM. It is made up 50% of the Malaga City Council and the Andalusian Government and its manager has been Juan Carlos Ramírez for years, until he presented his resignation this Wednesday. Orchestra sources believe that he has left before being dismissed, as requested by the Association of Professional Musicians of Symphony Orchestras (AMPOS). They requested it for irregularities in personnel hiring, as well as for the “systematic non-compliance with the collective agreement” and the “obstruction of the works council,” as reported in a statement.
Neither the City Council nor the Andalusian Government have wanted to consider the resignation. The template, yes. “It caught us by surprise, we didn’t expect it, but we understood that the situation was serious and there had to be some reaction,” says Carlos González, president of the company committee, who emphasizes that the musicians have been waiting for “years” for a moment like this and, therefore, That, when they finish their concert this Thursday night at the Teatro Cervantes they are going to celebrate. “There is excitement about the projects that are coming. “We are convinced that everything will improve,” he insists.
The labor representative also celebrates that the council has announced that there will soon be a board of directors to account for the resignation of the manager and that a public competition will be called to fill the position. “The head of production recently retired and his place is also free, like the concertmaster. There is going to be a complete renovation of the three pillars of the orchestra and we are very happy,” concludes González, who believes that in September they will also be able to move to their new rehearsal room.