The SafetyAtWorkBlog article on OHS professional competence has generated some lively debate on a discussion forum of the American Society of Safety Engineers. Jim Leemann makes a fundamental point “Determining if someone is competent to do a job is totally different from determining if someone has mastered the competencies to do the job”. This is … Continue reading “Being competent is more than just passing the competencies”
Workplace safety and industrial relations are undeniably tied together in terms of policy development, legislation and implementation. This week the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) used the occupational safety record of the Australian construction industry to criticise the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC). It should be stated here that SafetyAtWorkBlog does … Continue reading “The misuse of OHS in industrial relations campaigns”
The Australian newspapers in late-February shared the “outrage” of politicians and then the community over training that was provided to public servants by the American “happiness guru” Professor Martin Seligman. The cost to the taxpayer seems exorbitant but the psychologist was from the US and was training delegates for many days. It is not unusual … Continue reading “Happiness is a warm million”
It was predictable for the Opposition party to accuse Julia Gillard of arrogance for bypassing the Parliamentary process. Senator Eric Abetz wrote to the letters page of AFR on 21 January 2009, the text of the letter is below (although there were slight changes in the published version) “It is highly arrogant and misleading for … Continue reading “Gillard’s plans for new OHS agency – response”
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review of 20 January 2009, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, has indicated a preference for the Workplace Relations Ministerial Council to “create an executive agency that did not need the approval of parliament”. The article goes on to report Gillard’s OHS plan “the … Continue reading “Gillard’s plans for new OHS agency”