'What has IFA ever done for us...?'

[kevin wooldridge]

My main objection to chartered status for the IFA would be removed if the IFA were to accompany such plans with root and branch reform of the terms and conditions of archaeological employment, a staged plan to significantly improve salaries and a vision of how to effectively regulate what is pretty much at present an unregulated market.

The 'franchising of archaeology' idea was not mine. It was one of the recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Grooup a few years back. Price fixing may be illegal if it involves collusion between 'competitors'; that however is not the same as a set fee for a product or service. Franchisees (McDonalds, KFC, Quik-Fit Fitters spring to mind) can have set rates for goods and services that apply nationally.....I will admit to being 'anti-competititon' as regards archaeology. I would prefer it if archaeologists co-operated rather than competed....I would like to see closer links between field and academic archaeology and would be happy to see an arrangement where all franchisees had to provide evidence of a close and effective link to an academic body (university, museum, or learned society...)