 Re: locum rates
When I was first a locum in the late 50s, the standard rate was £20/week of 5 1/2 days. a bottle of whisky was 38/6d (about £2). Thus I had to work for 4-5 hours to earn enough to buy a bottle of whisky, now I only have to work for half hour.
So purchasing power of pharmacist wage has gone up except in regard to housing.
The other change for which we have to thank the multiples is the growth in daily locum work. when a proprietor wanted a locum it was usuually in the summer and for a week. the rest of the year locum work was sparse.
Come the multiples and managers wanting 5 day weeks etc, the opportunities multiplied. To see how it was, just look at Ireland where most pharmacies are still independent. Fleegle has described the situation as it was in UK until just a few years ago.
Zoggy has also illustrated lack of locum work on the continent. We might moan about the multiples, but without them the easy availability of locum jobs would not exist.
johnep
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