Pay: an analysis

[kevin wooldridge]

Well as Margaret Thatcher famously said 'The long march begins with a single step'....

[BAJR Host]

?100 for an advert in the Guardian... perhaps the 1923 edition...



I take it we are ALL agreed that wages and conditions must move forward (and up)?

What we are discussing is how far they should move, when this should happen and how.



Another day another WSI?

[BAJR Host]

While on the advert side... I do find it funny that National organisations advertise jobs in the 'National Papers'

the cost of a single advert in a single paper could pay for a whole new job!

ie : Full page ad in the Guardian = " c. ?15,000
Half Page Mono = 8,443
cost per column cm = ?52 ... so even the smallest advert ends up at ?782

BAJR.... what a bargain!

anyway... back to pay



Another day another WSI?

[Tile man]

My belief is that the IFA minimum salaries and RAO scheme could be used to bring about a real improvement. However, it needs to be flagged up well in advance so that the increased costs can be properly managed. It also needs to be incremental, to aid in the management of costs and reduce the risk of being undercut by the competition. This risk may also be further reduced by partnership with other stakeholders e.g. BAJR, SCAUM, Prospect etc etc. Flagging changes up well in advance means that further representations can be made on behalf of organisations which are constrained by belonging to larger entities( such as local government, universities)so theyt can meetthese targets.

The exact figures and timescale will have to the product of negotiation but the figures I suggested above strikes me as a reasonable first bash.

so from April 2008 to APRIL 2010 increase PIFA minima by AAWI + 2%; AIFA by AAWI+5%; MIFA AAWI +5%. At this stage I hope that PIFA level should be at what is considerd an appropiate wage.

That is a campaign with a clear target, fixed targets by which its success ( and the effectiveness of the stakeholeder organisations) can be measured, with I hope a negotiated consensus of what is reasonable.

[troll]

Sounds good.Problem is- an archaeologist with years and years of experience can still be doomed to PIFA level remuneration.How does the IFA intend to differentiate between a PIFA with a degree and 6 months experience and a PIFA with a degree (or three) and a lifetimes experience?[?]

..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)

[BAJR Host]

Which is why I think we have to get away from the PIFA, AIF, MIFA and recognise that responsibility levels (and pay) are a different matter.

ie the 7 BAJR Grades of responsibility... where you get paid for what you are capable of doing, rather than what level of IFA you are.

The end result should be that Pay is graded sensibily on responsibilities and there are only two levels of IFA membership.... Full Member and Affiliate Member (for students etc) ie... you are either in the IFA or not - the membership fee can then be pay related (as it is already)

ps.... Troll... have you still got the WHS Trowel??

Another day another WSI?

[Cautionary Tale]

Troll - I'm not certain that the IFA, or anyone else, could effectively come up with a range of satisfactory wage levels of the sort you suggest. After all, how can you gauge the precise difference between PIFA (+10 years) and PIFA (+15 years) etc. I feel that the IFA provide minimums, not pay grades: thats down to the unit. A job can be advertised with a pay range within which the highly experienced can attract the higher amounts.

Of the Clan Sutton

[troll]

By watching them on site sir!

..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)

[Tile man]

Personally I would try to keep a campaign for better pay as focused as possible, using the tools we have to hand.

Trying to change the way archaeology is structured is a much more controversial and complex topic. Whilst there is nothing to stop seperate debates and campaigns I would like to see how the training, accreditation, valletta and charter initiatives develop and bed down.

In the short term increasing the bands of pay at each level should allow increased manouver recognising particular positions like ' senior excavater' and 'expert excavator' ( to stick with dividing things into 3)

In the longer term I would like to see something like accreditation based on proven acquisition of certain skills sets for different levels.

But as I say that sort of discussion should run parallel to a clearly defined campaign for decent wages.

[troll]

Understood.Now can we see a campaign on standards too?

..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)