monty Wrote:for all said and done is there actually any point to the Diggers Forum ???.....haven't noticed any thing positive or different since inception ...................... good idea but getting nowhere whatsoever.....we are all still in the shit-depth variable .......
I'm going on Saturday, and I live in the west country. I'll pass on the comments re location, I doubt there is any problem
at all with holding it elsewhere, they'd just need someone to volunteer to give their time to organise a venue. You volunteering to organise and host the next one in the Peak Monty?
What's the DF ever done for us? Well, not as much as it would like because hardly anyone gives up their time to help organise events, outreach and the like. Same problem as with unions, some professional associations and some local societies. Those helping organise the DF are just normal site staff and lead the same disrupted lives as many of you: they get sent on away jobs, pipelines with mental hours, have kids etc etc but they still do what they can. What they
have done over the years is get several DF members onto IFA council who can actively support the causes of the site archaeologist and speak up when issues such as pay minima get raised. At one point there were 5 DF members on council, its dropped off with people getting to the end of their terms and no-one standing. But there are still normal site staff on council putting across the points that site staff want raised. DF members are also/have been on IFA committees such as the Working Practices Committee, the membership applications committee and maybe more I don't know about? And on the recent Self employment working group. The DF also actively monitors the IFA Jobsheet and challenges any questionable adverts. The DF also regularily makes representations to the IFA and others on behalf of site staff when there are consultations (and when there aren't) and can act as an umbrella group within the IFA to represent the views of site staff.
Whilst it may not be the most dynamic or visible organisation it carries on behind the scenes plugging away. If you want to help make it a better organisation then try and come along on Saturday, names to Jez by Thursday I think, DF is not restricted to the lowest grades, but open to anyone. There will be a trip to a pub after the AGM, so anyone who can't make it to that could catch up then.
