Pay and Conditions

[GnomeKing]

wierd stuff

[BAJR]

Life gets weird just now! I seriously hope to get back to a reality plane asap!

And talking of which... I will be asking the companies for a decision on the pay rate increase 2010/11

Going to be tougher for council groups... due to the freeze on wages. So will have to try and work with them.

Will be mooting a minimum pay increase of 2-2.5% to at least stabilise... and not stop moving forward. :face-huh:

So there is plenty to do... plenty to get on with and I would love to be able to concentrate!

[Dinosaur]

If you're happy to lay off us then I for one am happy to lay off you (can't speak for anyone else). Pax? - can get back to enjoying a well-earned hangover...

[BAJR]

I take it that is a form of apology.

If you are happy to stop this... then I have nothing more to say. That is the end of it. I will be more than happy to get back to normality.

There was nothing ever personal in this.... and that's were it remains... nothing personal. Pax Vobiscum

Happy hangover... I was on the carrot juice

[Dinosaur]

Sorry mate, not apologising for anything I didn't start (seem to recall current round was kicked-off by someone (!) implying that the company in question doesn't include a benefits package with its contracts?). Merely agreeing that the whole thing's got a bit silly - I gather you've had a long email chat with Mr Multiple Personality, think he's off on holiday and doesn't seem to be posting (unless he's developed another personality?) so we'll have to wait for his response. Also agree there are more important things to discuss, so just suggesting letting sleeping dogs lie :face-approve:

[RedEarth]

What is going on? It's getting a bit confusing (or do I mean tiresome). So to recap, the Island might be moving in time, and Lock might not be Lock at all, but what is that black cloud all about? l

[BAJR]

I am getting tired by it..

Shall we just say that a certain amount of smart arsery is happening. I am doing my best to ensure that it stops there.

Think I shall correspond with them on Tuesday and ask them to mind the attack poodles.

So Red Earth... Apologies... there are serious issues to talk about... and believe me that's the intention...

@Dinosaur... I am not your mate... its something you earn over time... and please lets not go down the "who started it" line...

[Geli]

"Geli, slightly confused at your post, is this aimed at me? "

No Dirty Boy the post was not aimed at you personally but was a general comment about the conceit which I have observed over the years. It's so easy to turn a blind eye to many of the shortcomings within commercial archaeology when you're in a secure position with a unit. Obviously the fear of falling out of favour with your employer is a genuine concern, but does that mean you clam up and then convince yourself that you're a doing a good job? My feeling is that many firms employ people who are compliant rather than competent in supervisory positions. Effectively what goes on is somewhat reminiscent of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale The Emperors New Clothes! I am not trying to say these people have no skill or understanding of archaeology, but in the final analysis they won't rock the boat no matter what the outcome. Looking at many archives during the course of my working life I have felt something approaching despair at the quality of the job they represent. As a colleague has mentioned to me on a number of occasions recently no one seems to mention the importance of the primary record anymore!? Working on a number of projects recently I can only conclude that the site reports are written despite the archive rather than with its aid!

[Dinosaur]

Geli

I concur. I think a lot of the problem is that new graduates/diggers (and even some quite experienced ones) don't seem to have ever read any excavation reports and hence don't have any idea what they should be recording and why (other than blindly following any prompts on their recording sheets). I did a straw-poll amongst a cabin full of crew a few years back and none of them had ever read a site report! A common one seems to be people e.g. just drawing their own ditch section without it ever crossing their minds to maybe add a couple of lines to link it up to the next person's on the plan, definite lack of joined-up thinking (is that a pun?). There seems to be an awful lot of pointless minutiae recorded though - frankly when I come to write the whole think up I really don't care about the detailed climatic conditions (barring flooding stopping play) and I've experienced one guy who on at least one job wrote more scoring the standard of the machine-stripping than he did about the archaeology underneath.....the challenge is to break people out of their own little worlds, step back and understand that the small spot where they are working is part of a greater whole which needs recording accordingly?

Does all that make sense? If not it's probably due to lack of carrot juice, am having to take the old-fashioned black coffee and bacon butty approach to wellness today

[kevin wooldridge]

I think that it is a little unfair to blame 'new graduates/diggers (and even some quite experienced ones)' for the faults of a recording system. Surely it the role of supervisors and management to make sure that everyone at the sharp end of things is aware of what they are doing and why!!

My general observation (over far too many years and various levels of management) is that once upon a time archaeologists were able to build a wider skillsbase and most archaeological learning was through mentoring with supervisors providing quality, quantity and mentoring control. Nowadays the general level of field skills is less as more experienced staff go in other directions (largely because the pay incentive lies within the archaeological office rather than on the archaeological playing field). If you want experienced staff to stay in the field and act as mentors/tutors/and QA, the simple answer is to pay them better wages and offer better conditions and stop loading all of the higher paid work behind the soundproof double-glazing where no-one can hear a digger scream....