As I trundle home on the train... Maggie has let me know that ...

Pre-Construct Archaeology in London is pleased to announce that we have recently awarded a 5% pay rise across the board in recognition of the fantastic work done by our team.

Well done Pre-Construct London. and thanks for showing the best asset a company has is motivated and appreciated staff. :face-approve:

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Here's a virutal pint to all of us hardworking folk who are sitting in site huts and offices everywhere and not 'networking' at the IFA.

No bad grand-dad or hand-bag dancing for us tonight! Or nasty beer in the Reading uni! Or stonking hangovers tomorrow....!

ML[8D]

Alright m'dears

Horribly ill I may be... coughing and wheezing through the IFA conference.. but hear is a concept... should I ask to join the IFA council.. to better represent the views of BAJR/disparate voices. ???

And nice to meet VoMD ... we do get on really!

Now... wheres my lemsip

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

Yet another site in yet another of my more difficult local authorities where the planner has refused to put on a condition. Yup, he's right, it isn't in a designated archaeological priority area. But does my arguement that it bisects a roman road and have a basement carry any weight at all? Of course not - that would be a reasonable response.

Would write to complain - thereby wasting more taxpayers' money on postage for a letter destined for the circular filing cabinet - but they never sent a decision notice, so only found out today 6 months later. The horse has bolted, the bird has flown - pick your metaphor.

This, oh diggers who shout about the ineffectiveness of curators, is a too often occurance. We are only as good as our planning officers, and they tend to blow....(well, some of them at any rate).

Yours in ever increasing despondancy [xx(]
ML

Please see http://www.espo.org/index.asp?CMD=CTR for more details

Short Description of the contract or purchase(s)

Cambridgeshire County Council is seeking an external partner organisation to assume responsibility for its in-house archaeological field services unit (called 'Cam Arc'). Should such an organisation be identified, then ownership of Cam Arc would transfer to it, in April 2008, on the basis that the transfer would both ensure the continued existence of Cam Arc, and offer the Unit greater commercial and operational freedom. Whether or not the transfer exercise proceeds will in part depend upon the extent to which genuine interest is evidenced amongst potential partner organisations. To assess such interest, it is proposed to carry out a market testing exercise in advance of commencing the formal procurement process. Should insufficient interest be shown, then the procurement process may be cancelled.

Any takers?

Just to keep folks up to date.. Past Horizons has now added a section for UK and Irish volunteer sites.

http://www.pasthorizons.com/worldproject...ectsUK.asp

So now thats

World Sites (the whole lot) - 386 sites in total
North American Sites - 77 sites
French Sites - 54 sites
UK and Ireland Sites - 51 sites

If you know of other sites.. then please do add them. or if you are already on and want to change details.. contact Past Horizons direct on info@pasthorizons.com

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

OK bearing in mind the date, this may be a complete wind-up, but.... there is an article in today's Sunday Times that suggests frequent exposure to a bacteria found in dirt makes you happier.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_an...596735.ece

....that when PMs come out to site they bring Crispy Cream Donughts with them

What would you guys and gals like to PMs bring with them to site?

May god go with you in all the dark places you must walk.

Thought this is good to post here as you guys are quite active in the "job cuts area"

Quote:quote:I have received this and I am passing it on as it is revealing of the context in which archaeologists operate nowadays. One of the goals of Archaeologists for Global Justice is of course campaigning for the dignity of our profession and against the loss of knowledge and expertise. I believe that this is not only of concern for British-based colleagues.

Cheers,
Umberto



Museum of London Branch of Prospect
Stop job cuts at MoLAS!

Major redundancies and restructuring have been proposed by executive managers at the Museum of London's Archaeology Service. Out of a pool of
13 finds specialists, 8-11 job cuts are proposed, with a further 5-6 redundancies in MoLAS's 15-strong management team. The job losses amount to a 10% cut in the workforce and mean that vital skills could be lost to the Museum completely. The threatened staff have worked at MoLAS for at least eight years, some for over twenty years.

Executive managers, advised by business consultants with no previous experience of archaeology, argue in their redundancy Consultation Document that there is a 'decrease in demand' or 'demand does not exist'
for the 13 Post-Roman Finds, Building Material, Animal Bone and Botany Specialists. Yet figures show there is a total of four to five years'
work waiting to be done by the threatened finds specialists. In addition to this, MoLAS is about to start digging major archaeological sites in London and elsewhere that will produce an avalanche of finds for the specialists to analyse. Demand for the specialists is set to increase, not fall. Executive managers also argue that the specialists are not 'financially sustainable', yet increases in specialist charge-out rates in April will not be given the chance to take effect before redundancy notices are handed out. The £250,000pa the specialists bring into MoLAS from external clients will be put in jeopardy by the cuts and MoLAS may not be able to honour existing commitments.

The redundancies in MoLAS's management team don't add up either. Fifteen posts are threatened but with sixteen posts in a new proposed management structure, executive managers can't explain how they have arrived at a figure of 5-6 redundancies. They argue that the new jobs are fundamentally different from the current ones. But is the new 'Post Excavation Manager' job really that different from the current 'Project Manager (Post Excavation)' job, for example? Similarities in the job descriptions between the current and the new jobs suggest that managers will effectively be forced to reapply for their own jobs.

The MoLAS website says that specialists 'are at the forefront of current research in their fields and command international reputations' and 'offer a comprehensive range of services that combine reliability and cost-effectiveness with academic excellence.' The management team has worked on hundreds of projects in London, the UK and abroad, including the proposed Olympics sites. The work of specialists and management has helped ensure MoLAS is one of the leading archaeological units in the country and one of the foremost archaeological publishers in Europe. The loss of their skills will damage not only MoLAS and the Museum, but British archaeology and heritage too.

In 1998, MoLAS staff were told by executive managers to accept cuts in annual leave and other conditions to 'secure the long-term future' of specialists and make MoLAS 'more competitive'. But it didn't work - MoLAS is in trouble again. The current redundancy proposals will also fail to improve MoLAS's long term financial viability because they too ignore the underlying problem - that, just like other archaeological units, MoLAS does not charge clients enough in the cut-throat archaeological market.

There is an alternative. Prospect is currently negotiating with employers' organisation SCAUM to mitigate the affect of the cut-throat market. The idea is that archaeological units agree to work together to make improvements that benefit everyone rather than undercutting each other. Instead of axing skills, executive managers should be using MoLAS's dominance of the London market and influence with the archaeologists' professional body the IFA in backing Prospect's initiative. They should be investing in specialists and managers, not making job cuts.

What you can do: write to Michael Cassidy, Chairman of Museum of London Board of Governors, Members' Room, PO Box 270, Guildhall, London, EC2P 2EJ, michael.cassidy@dlapiper.com telling him to stop the job cuts.


--
Umberto Albarella
Department of Archaeology
University of Sheffield
Northgate House
West Street
Sheffield S1 4ET
United Kingdom
Telephone: (+) 44 (0) 114 22 22 943
Fax: (+) 44 (0) 114 27 22 563
http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/staff/albarella.html
For Archaeologists for Global Justice (AGJ) see:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/global-justice.html

"There is no way to peace. Peace IS the way".

Some childish Humour! - BAJR TV

Need a break from the trauma of normal archaeology - blimey we need it!!

To BAJR TV with you (contains naughty words! PG rating)

Enjoy some good old fashioned humour.. from my fave ... the Russel Crowe gladiator sketch to the timeless Romani domus eunt!

http://www.bajr.org/BAJRTV.htm

or on the front page.. have a laugh!

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu