Hello all

As we seem collectively to be letting off a bit of steam over this one, I feel I should reply to the points raised earlier.

Claire was quite right to jump back at my comment.  Should we be, as she challenged me, ‘grateful just for being paid money for working’?  Let’s see...

We do enough unpaid work for our employers for ‘the love of it’ as it is.  Love is wonderful, but it really does not pay the mortgage, and gratitude does not feed the kids.  Until abstract concepts gain pecuniary value, I would argue that, yes we surely deserve payment that reflects our ability, responsibility, experience, talents, skills and knowledge.  And yes, it is alarming, but Lesley is right to point out how little heritage sector salaries have risen since the mid-1990s, when I too embarked on my professional career.

The point I made rather poorly last night about being relieved to be offered money at all, was to challenge the amount and level of work that as a sector, we do place upon our volunteers or which we hope and expect to get for free.  Many of our volunteers are young, trying to break into this profession, and can ill-afford the free labour they provide us to fill gaps in delivery we might once have plugged with paid staff at all levels.  That’s before we get into the muddy area of raising expectations with low-paid internships and precious few entry-level posts available at the far end.

Claire said that ‘Having wages like this stops the diversification of the workforce and undermines the skills and experience of staff.’ Yes it does.  But so does an over-reliance on volunteers to do work ‘for free’. 

We all know that there are hundreds of superb volunteers.  As well as being a freelancer committed to developing heritage clients to release their brilliant potential, I am a volunteer trustee myself.  And I know how much work I give for free to the Trust.  I also acknowledge that, as a charitable trust, we rely on our volunteer support to deliver a wide range of delivery elements from blogging to education sessions and the work our volunteers contribute is tremendous.  However, the work the volunteers do for us is by necessity (and rightly) their second priority – paying jobs, families, other commitments come first. 

Choosing to be a volunteer can place a tremendous burden on people who have other responsibilities, roles and priorities.  It also limits the diversification of the volunteer workforce into those who can afford to, and those, young and old, who would love to, could contribute a great deal but cannot work without pay.  Consequently, this means that volunteer power is not always as consistent as paid power, as wide ranging in sector-specific professional skills and experience, nor as prepared to take on the ultimate responsibilities and increasing pressures that the current sector environment involves.

YES, we do all need to demonstrate the value of paying staff properly.  If the Trust I volunteer for did not pay its staff (who are worth every penny of the tiny amount we can afford to pay them – I wish we could pay more, I really, really do), then no matter how brilliant our volunteers, the centre would not hold and we could not accomplish what we do.

Where we can, our Trust aims to pay specialist professionals to develop the packages for delivery and train our volunteer team, but we know the fees we can afford to pay are below the main market rate and that we have to rely on ‘the kindness of strangers’ to go the extra mile for us in the hope that they become our friends.  It’s not perfect.  It’s not right.  But, on the other side of the coin, as a freelancer and consultant, I find that when the cause is right but the money poor, I take those jobs on too, because I want us all to succeed.

So, in answer to your question – ‘is any money in payment better than no money at all’?  No.

Do we exist in a hideous Panglossian state where ‘all is for the best’ in the ‘best of all possible worlds’ and in which an experienced learning practitioner can expect to be offered less than the living wage to work and do the job properly?  It appears so, yes.

Should we agitate?  It would seem an excellent idea.  How best to proceed?

Yours in solidarity,

J

I agree with Claire and Essex - I came to UK in 1990s from Australia and as far as I can see, salaries in the UK heritage sector have not materially altered since the mid-1990s - 20 years ago. Australian heritage sector salaries, at least in the cities, have pretty much doubled in that time. 

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