350 full time jobs created in French archaeology

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After a long struggle, the French archaeological trades unions have succeeded in forcing the creation of 350 full time jobs at INRAP, the national public preventive archaeology organisation. The decision was announced to the unions by the French Culture Minister. The contracts take effect from the 1st June 2007. There were already 1,450 employees (archaeologists and other staff) in the organisation, so the total will now rise to 1,800.

The transformation of what was a fragile archaeological economy into a mature, adult one has been long and difficult. INRAP is not only the principal archaeological contractor in France but also has wide ranging responsibilities for education and outreach and also for the publication (on paper and digitally) of the results of its work.
As in the United Kingdom, short term employees were discriminated against because of the uncertainty of their revenues. It was not only difficult to try to buy a house, it was very hard even renting a flat. Innumerable financial guarantees were demanded by prospective landlords. There was the fear of having an accident on site, which while covered by the excellent French Health Service, made the employees fear for their physical capacity to perform the same job, once they had recovered.

Indeed, the same fear led short term employees (CDDs in French) to accept orders and working conditions which were as illegal as they are dangerous.

The numbers of CDDs employed by INRAP is much greater than 350. So as to avoid any suspicion of favouritism, those given the long term contracts were chosen according to legal criteria which the French government should have been respecting. Those who had 10 months continuous employment at INRAP in 2006, and those who worked for a minimum of 18 months over the 3 year period from the 1st January 2004 until the 31st December 2006 were put on a list in strict order of the number of contract months worked.

Inevitably, some people will refuse to accept the contracts, which is their right. Others will choose part time working and be paid accordingly. As a result, other contracts will be made available which will make it possible to help colleagues who had worked very little over the period 2004-2006 for whatever reason, but who have worked for a considerable time since the creation of INRAP in 2001. Once again, the order of priority will be the number of months worked.

It should be noted that using the system of longevity in the organisation combats the all too prevalent bias and favouritism deeply entrenched in French society. It is not a perfect solution but it is neutral and transparent. Not only those who have been chosen but also those who have not been know why.


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