Campaign to keep IfA minimum salaries

[kevin wooldridge]

Although RAOs are part of the IfA system they have no status and rights as far as membership goes. Never have. It has always been part of the scheme that each RAO has to have a nominated 'responsible person' ' an IfA member who takes the rap should any rap need taking.

So when it is said that 'employing organisations' lobby the IfA, in reality that still has to come from the lips of an individual....

why did RAOs come about.....ermm...I guess cos they pay a subscription fee and that helps the IfA finances.....

I don't think there is any suggestion of price fixing here (by individuals or organisations). The context of a legal challenge is to whether the IfA as a professional association has the right to impose pay minima on organisations that seek it's endorsement....

[BAJR]

Hmmmm even more interesting. The question is. who is making the legal challenge... and why would they do such a thing... ? After all, everyone agrees that wages for most people are so low already ( see Benchmarking 2008) that it is hardly worth people staying in archaeology ( commercial that is) and expains why there is a vast drain of experience... undeniable?

So what this individual or group of individuals are saying is that they would take the IfA to court, using their own money, in order to make poor wages poorer and force more people to leave archaeology.... just so they can what?

I see many companies who are more than able to pay over the rate. and have the work.

[monty]

I see many companies who are more than able to pay over the rate. and have the work.

Yet they do NOT pay it to fieldwork staff....................

[monty]

WHO ARE THESE COMPANIES ?

they need to be named....
what is their reasoning for lowering wages?
will one of them dare explain it to us here?

The main reason for lowering wages is to keep managerial staff featherbedded and diggers down in the dirt where they belong methinks............

[kevin wooldridge]

Hmmmm even more interesting. The question is. who is making the legal challenge...

Indeed David. The information came from an open letter written by the IfA chair, but not detailing either the form of the challenge or the potential 'challengers'....further there was no mention of the opinion of the IfA legal advisor as to the potential success of such a challenge. These ought to be questions the IfA chair answers...she after all raised them in the first place....some folk might think she was trying to 'scare' the membership into supporting the negative view, so perhaps clarification would restore an objective balance to the debate....Perhaps those who are writing to the IfA could mention this matter as well....

[P Prentice]

i like Kevins suggestion.
otherwise it will have to be a campaign of Shame and Anger...

obviously you will be putting as much energy into naming and shaming those non ifa (ergo non ro) companies that are currently undercutting the beleagured aforementioned minima payers by paying below minima payrates/buttons? if the uber units withdraw from the ro scheme and thence the ifa there will be no minima anywhere other than bajr and he wont get to employ many on his rates.

[BAJR]

As P Prent says... I would end up the only check on minima. and that would not last too long... as the freefall would find outlets. ( even the JIS would have to carry adverts for minimum wage jobs! )

I still have a sizable number who will pay BAJR grades and above ( the import word is above! ) and this is both ROs and non ROs

Undercutting is the death of archaeology - whether RO or not. I was talking to someone recently who agreed that the tender is based on what will exactly fulfill the brief and be as cheap as possible. the concept of doing a good job was actually quite far down the line.

Not true for many many companies. BUT what do you do if company A next door is paying minimum wage and you still pay decent rates and subs and accommodation? you are forced either down or out... and then what?

It does not have to be like that, but it seems to be...

:face-huh:

[kevin wooldridge]

if the uber units withdraw from the ro scheme and thence the ifa there will be no minima anywhere other than bajr and he wont get to employ many on his rates.

More importantly if the RAO scheme collapses I can't see much future for the IFA unless membership rates are raised to match the loss in RAO revenues......now some might argue that a collapse of the IfA in its current form, wouldn't be such a bad thing. Personally I think it would be a disaster.....how far does the brinkmanship go!

[Unitof1]

so how much should the the memberships rates be raised to match the loss in RO revenues to maintain the current form of the ifa? Would be nice to see some accounts. Now that would be a Profile of the profession (mostly of pub....).

[Martin Locock]

If you look at the IfA website they publish their annual reports: the latest version posted there (2011) shows subscription income £300k, RP income £57k. So the ROs make a substantial but not critical contribution to the running costs. The IfA would survive without their fees.