FAIR PAY FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS - The Prehistoric Society



FAIR PAY FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTSAs a learned society dedicated to promoting and protecting the global archaeology of deep human history the Prehistoric Society is concerned greatly with the training, pay and working conditions of archaeologists. A current instance of this concern is the industrial dispute in Ireland which has led to unprecedented industrial action, . Ireland has many outstanding prehistoric monuments that include UNESCO’s World Heritage sites at the Brú na Bóinne. Over the last two decades commercial excavations have added to this heritage with discoveries such as the Clowanstown Mesolithic site, recently celebrated in ‘The History of Ireland in 100 Objects’. The protection and understanding of such a rich deep history requires an experienced and dedicated work force. A decent wage is essential to recruit and retain staff with the professional skills to safeguard, excavate and interpret the national story.Too many skilled archaeologists have been lost during the economic turmoil of the last decade from commercial, local government, museum and higher education institutions ().This situation is now impacting on the profession’s ability to meet the challenges of major infrastructure projects. In the UK these include HS2 along with many road schemes, flood works and broadband rollout that in total come to a projected ?464bn of investment; a figure that does not include the third runway at Heathrow (). The timescale for many of these projects is from 2015 to 2033 emphasising the need for archaeological bodies such as ours to address the urgent demands of skills and training and the pay and conditions that must underpin them.The Prehistoric Society strongly supports the right to fair pay and conditions as highlighted in the current dispute between Unite, on behalf of the Union of Irish Archaeologists, and their archaeological employer. We believe that engaging with the process, as several Irish archaeological companies have done, is the constructive way forward. Honouring the rates of pay proposed by Unite will benefit all archaeologists and allow our profession to meet the considerable challenges ahead. ??The Prehistoric Society Council 27/7/18 ................
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