20th January 2010, 11:46 AM
"I blame the consultants"
Consultant archaeologists tend to enjoy the best pay and working conditions in the profession. That doesn't mean that they are responsible for keeping units' wages low. If consultants were the reason for commercial archaeology being traditionally badly paid, then areas of the country where consultancy work is usually undertaken by units (e.g. Scotland) would have better pay and conditions than elsewhere. But that isn't the case.
Consultant archaeologists tend to enjoy the best pay and working conditions in the profession. That doesn't mean that they are responsible for keeping units' wages low. If consultants were the reason for commercial archaeology being traditionally badly paid, then areas of the country where consultancy work is usually undertaken by units (e.g. Scotland) would have better pay and conditions than elsewhere. But that isn't the case.