Toward a Regulation of Archaeological Labor in Spain: Up against a Brick Wall for 40 Years

Since the first attempts to organize as a collective in the mid-1980s, with the surge of the new management models in a democratic and decentralized Spain, both archaeology and labor have changed considerably. Although many old battles to recognize the profession are still alive, other initiatives have strengthened the archaeological ecosystem in the country. On the horizon, addressing the structural challenges of work precarity in archaeology. Temporary contracts, low salaries, lack of legal, and administrative recognition, and deficiencies in basic rights (for example, in health and safety) are some of the problems we have been facing for decades, and now we are closer to counteracting them. This paper will review (1) the recent history of Spanish archaeology and the formation of the current archaeological ecosystem; (2) collective action to improve working conditions in Spanish archaeology over the last decades; (3) the latest actions from the Spanish Platform of Professional Archaeologists (PEPA) to overcome hindrance; and (4) the dream of a common front in Europe (and beyond) to achieve the profession we want to have. Although sometimes this struggle is frustrating, a retrospective view of the events and the achievements gained over the years brings hope for the future and some significant steps forward.