20th September 2012, 11:43 AM
kevin wooldridge Wrote:I guess the nearest equivalent in UK terms would be to effectively 'nationalise' archaeology.....once you accept that principle, managing archaeology becomes as simple as managing any other state owned asset, the NHS, the Royal Bank of Scotland for example.....
You were doing so well until this bit!
The sad truth is (as an old acquaintance used to say) that we are trying to earn a living doing what rich folk used to treat as a hobby. Indeed, heritage ought to be a national asset, and duly controlled, but that will probably cause ructions with the voting public - just look at the battering EH has taken because Jeremy Hunt (with a silent "C") sold off half the DCMS budget to curry favour with Cameron. If we run it as a free market, the customer (usually the developer) sets the value in terms of what he/she thinks it is worth compared to more "substantial" professions that build buildings, install plumbing, etc. In that scenario, we are only worth the least it will take to clear away a Planning Condition! Sure, a few canny folk are making a good living selling the labour of the rest, but that happens in all trades, and even the best-paid archaeological consultants can't touch the salaries of the big fish in construction.
I'd back the idea of a national archaeologists' strike for better pay, but it sounds scarily like a Douglas Adams sketch about a National Philosophers' Strike...