Thing 7 - More networks & professional organisations

Oh dear, it had to come along at some point. This is where I have to try not to rant about the unfairness of CILIP's membership fee structure. It's hard enough trying to pay all the bills and fill up the car with petrol without being fleeced for membership of a professional organisation as well.

http://www.cilip.org.uk/membership/cost/pages/subscription.aspx

I don't see how it's acceptable for full time library assistants earning just over £17,500 to be paying the same amount per year as Library Service Managers or University Librarians who probably earn £50,000 per year.

Let's do some maths.
At £189 per annum, a library assistant earning £18,000 will be paying CILIP 1.05% of their gross annual salary.
A student loan is repayable at a rate of 9% over £15,000.
For national insurance, gross earnings between £139 and £817 per week are charged at 12%.
Under £35,000 income tax is charged at 20%

Average Library assistant gets £1500 per month gross.
- tax at 20% = 300
- NI at 12% = 180
- Student Loan at 9% = 135
- CILIP membership = 18.90
I haven't added pensions, as these are variable, but this leaves a net monthly salary of approx. £863.10. Add rent or mortgage repayments, fuel, utilities and food, and there's very little left, if any.

Let's have a look at a Head of Library Services on, say, £50,000 p.a.
£4166 per month
- tax at 40% = 1666
- NI at 12% = 499.92
- CILIP membership = 18.90
Net monthly salary of approx. £1981.18. Nice.
I'm assuming that a head of service doesn't have a student loan, but if they did, the rate of 9% would deduct £375 from the monthly salary on top of the deductions listed above.

Anyway, the CILIP membership fee is 0.378% of the Head of Service's annual salary, compared to 1.05% of the library assistant's annual salary.

I think those in better paid positions should be subsidising those wanting to get on in the profession. Lower the fees for those earning under £20,000, raise them for those earning over £50,000, have a sliding scale in between which goes up in £5,000 increments. CILIP would still get the money, just in a fairer, more Robin Hood sort of way.

So, in a nutshell, I'm not joining CILIP because it's not good value for money. It shouldn't be a bar to getting on in the profession, and no amount of proselytising is going to make me change my mind. So there.

[Maths help provided by Percentage calculator: http://lachie.net/maths/percent.html]
[Deductions from http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/about.php]