13th August 2010, 01:13 PM
I think the point has been missed slightly. Yes I'm aware that no company is perfect and that some small companies are bad too work for, but they are not in a position to change the way commercial archaeology conducts itself in the way the large companies are.
Ok, I'll try and start again and be a little more clear and less rambling. For a start I'm not a newbie fresh out of uni with no real understanding. I've been in the field over 15years. I've worked with research groups, county councils, small and large commercial units including several of the current big guns. I've worked from digger grade to PO and have seen the system change and evolve.
I'm sick and tired of people saying that diggers now have it better then "back in the day", yes I agree in many respects conditions have improved. Generally stay away accom is not only provided but much better, there is better job security and welfare facilities are much much better. Although on that last point I feel that has more to do with developers H&S than the arch companies themselves. I certainly know from talking to others at other units that most are still happy to send a team of 4-5 out to an eval with nothing but the vehicle they arrived in. But in many respects they have it much worse.
Job security is still not a constant despite what many would say. Yes many companies offer permanent contracts but that doesn't stop them shedding staff when work is tight (We have to be practical, the work we do its going to happen. Why try and hide it?) Some of the larger companies are currently saying how great they are offering pension plans. Although as I understand government legislation the real reason maybe the legal requirements that are coming into effect at the beginning of the next financial year. The current trend to undercut and bid for jobs further and further afield means that the amount of time fieldstaff are expected to work away from home has increased dramatically! Which means there is no chance for someone who wants to remain in the field to be able to have a decent life outside work (God forbid). Also this need to streach site staff across as many sites as possible means in real terms that there isn't the experienced staff on hand to help teach the new hands.
Some of the larger companies rave about there inhouse training programs (I've seen two of these at work and know people involved with others). They are all the same. Due to the current nature of work these people are given no additional support or training, rather once they have been with the company X months and the managers need an additional person for a watching brief somewhere off they are sent. Now all of you who have done watching briefs will know the situation. You often have clients who don't want you there, will "forget" to tell you about planned intrusive works and can be fairly intimidating. You have no real equipment or facilities other than a camera, digging kit (If your lucky a laser level) and no-one at the office is interested because there focused on that big job in the next county. In this situation many diggers simply struggle and are then made to feel inadequate by the people who put them in that situation. Those that struggle through are given increasingly complex jobs, still with no training. Making many current supervisors and PO's bouncing from job to job doing lille more than trying to minimise the bollocking with there confidence shattered by the whole affair.
It doesn't have to be this way. In fact 5 years ago it wasn't this bad (And currently its getting worse). I know its probably slightly nieve to ask for more wages in the current climate but we can demand better working practise and conditions. If these companies stopped trying to bully each other then people could work closer to home (more often then now at any rate). I stress again that managers need to listen to the fieldstaff. They understand time constraints and how long things take to dig (A large ditch section will prob take between a day and day and a half to fully dig and record depending on geology. Doesn't matter how tight the schedule is thats what it takes). If we could stop streaching the work force to such an extent and allow those with experience to pass that knowledge on before sending new staff into difficult situations.
Lastly stop making the archaeology suffer. I'm certain in years to come when people look at the archives from the past 3 years there are going to see little difference between ourselves and the antiquairians before us. I know sites where only relationships were investigated, on one post-med factory complex the context sheets said little more than "brick wall" repeated over and over. Why don't people understand that the archive IS the site, if your not going to do it properly why not just let the developer rip it out and save some money! This smash and grab mentality that runs through commercial archaeology just makes us all look bad. We need time to record, we need enough staff on site to record within the provided timeframe, and we need the experience to record properly and show newbies how too.
Sorry I realise I just went into another rambling rant. I'll go away compose what I mean and come back
Ok, I'll try and start again and be a little more clear and less rambling. For a start I'm not a newbie fresh out of uni with no real understanding. I've been in the field over 15years. I've worked with research groups, county councils, small and large commercial units including several of the current big guns. I've worked from digger grade to PO and have seen the system change and evolve.
I'm sick and tired of people saying that diggers now have it better then "back in the day", yes I agree in many respects conditions have improved. Generally stay away accom is not only provided but much better, there is better job security and welfare facilities are much much better. Although on that last point I feel that has more to do with developers H&S than the arch companies themselves. I certainly know from talking to others at other units that most are still happy to send a team of 4-5 out to an eval with nothing but the vehicle they arrived in. But in many respects they have it much worse.
Job security is still not a constant despite what many would say. Yes many companies offer permanent contracts but that doesn't stop them shedding staff when work is tight (We have to be practical, the work we do its going to happen. Why try and hide it?) Some of the larger companies are currently saying how great they are offering pension plans. Although as I understand government legislation the real reason maybe the legal requirements that are coming into effect at the beginning of the next financial year. The current trend to undercut and bid for jobs further and further afield means that the amount of time fieldstaff are expected to work away from home has increased dramatically! Which means there is no chance for someone who wants to remain in the field to be able to have a decent life outside work (God forbid). Also this need to streach site staff across as many sites as possible means in real terms that there isn't the experienced staff on hand to help teach the new hands.
Some of the larger companies rave about there inhouse training programs (I've seen two of these at work and know people involved with others). They are all the same. Due to the current nature of work these people are given no additional support or training, rather once they have been with the company X months and the managers need an additional person for a watching brief somewhere off they are sent. Now all of you who have done watching briefs will know the situation. You often have clients who don't want you there, will "forget" to tell you about planned intrusive works and can be fairly intimidating. You have no real equipment or facilities other than a camera, digging kit (If your lucky a laser level) and no-one at the office is interested because there focused on that big job in the next county. In this situation many diggers simply struggle and are then made to feel inadequate by the people who put them in that situation. Those that struggle through are given increasingly complex jobs, still with no training. Making many current supervisors and PO's bouncing from job to job doing lille more than trying to minimise the bollocking with there confidence shattered by the whole affair.
It doesn't have to be this way. In fact 5 years ago it wasn't this bad (And currently its getting worse). I know its probably slightly nieve to ask for more wages in the current climate but we can demand better working practise and conditions. If these companies stopped trying to bully each other then people could work closer to home (more often then now at any rate). I stress again that managers need to listen to the fieldstaff. They understand time constraints and how long things take to dig (A large ditch section will prob take between a day and day and a half to fully dig and record depending on geology. Doesn't matter how tight the schedule is thats what it takes). If we could stop streaching the work force to such an extent and allow those with experience to pass that knowledge on before sending new staff into difficult situations.
Lastly stop making the archaeology suffer. I'm certain in years to come when people look at the archives from the past 3 years there are going to see little difference between ourselves and the antiquairians before us. I know sites where only relationships were investigated, on one post-med factory complex the context sheets said little more than "brick wall" repeated over and over. Why don't people understand that the archive IS the site, if your not going to do it properly why not just let the developer rip it out and save some money! This smash and grab mentality that runs through commercial archaeology just makes us all look bad. We need time to record, we need enough staff on site to record within the provided timeframe, and we need the experience to record properly and show newbies how too.
Sorry I realise I just went into another rambling rant. I'll go away compose what I mean and come back