19th September 2012, 10:09 PM
Greetings Mister Hosty!
I`m once more in possession of fangled technology so can engage again! Just for clarity sir.....I`m not attempting a stab at Unit Managers or indeed Consultants here however.....the circular(and un-resolved) dialogue about the proactive devaluation of professional archaeologists does need a dose of reality. The fact is that we operate in a profit oriented environment on a competitive basis. The facts stand on their own ie.....professional heritage services are clearly a viable business commodity. So viable in fact, that a significant proportion of the workforce sustain a comfortable standard of living through marketing the endeavours of others. How do we adjust the balance? The rights and wrongs of the way things stand is a fairly pointless discussion simply because the actions required to balance the equation would require nothing short of an industry-wide rebellion
. Accepting the concept that currently we have no control over the means of production can be quite liberating and is not really an admission of defeat and acceptance of the status quo. If we understand the enormity of the equation, surely then the way forwards would be to come up with a solution that would see the balancing of scales but still maintaining our viability as a business asset. Therein lies the task ahead. Could it be as simple as everyone overnight going self-employed on a rate set through industry-wide agreement? Could it involve a new Union of front-line service providers? A Co-Operative? An Uber-Collective or even an Uber-Unit? I for one am bored to tears with being paid less than a bin-man for my skills and experience whilst those with less skills and experience don a cheap Tesco suit, make a few phone calls and can suddenly afford a mortgage and actually have a structured career moulded from the sweat of my brow. Are we up against an insurmountable struggle with exploitation and capitalism itself or......are we simply in need of a way of inverting the pyramid?
I`m once more in possession of fangled technology so can engage again! Just for clarity sir.....I`m not attempting a stab at Unit Managers or indeed Consultants here however.....the circular(and un-resolved) dialogue about the proactive devaluation of professional archaeologists does need a dose of reality. The fact is that we operate in a profit oriented environment on a competitive basis. The facts stand on their own ie.....professional heritage services are clearly a viable business commodity. So viable in fact, that a significant proportion of the workforce sustain a comfortable standard of living through marketing the endeavours of others. How do we adjust the balance? The rights and wrongs of the way things stand is a fairly pointless discussion simply because the actions required to balance the equation would require nothing short of an industry-wide rebellion
. Accepting the concept that currently we have no control over the means of production can be quite liberating and is not really an admission of defeat and acceptance of the status quo. If we understand the enormity of the equation, surely then the way forwards would be to come up with a solution that would see the balancing of scales but still maintaining our viability as a business asset. Therein lies the task ahead. Could it be as simple as everyone overnight going self-employed on a rate set through industry-wide agreement? Could it involve a new Union of front-line service providers? A Co-Operative? An Uber-Collective or even an Uber-Unit? I for one am bored to tears with being paid less than a bin-man for my skills and experience whilst those with less skills and experience don a cheap Tesco suit, make a few phone calls and can suddenly afford a mortgage and actually have a structured career moulded from the sweat of my brow. Are we up against an insurmountable struggle with exploitation and capitalism itself or......are we simply in need of a way of inverting the pyramid?