Thursday again
Another wasted trip to the Job Service Provider - no computers again..... the fight is going out of me but I still tried to highlight it to someone.
When I mentioned it to the manager he had the audacity to say I would find a job soon so then I wont have to worry about it.
I tried to explain unsuccessfully I t feel, that this is not just about me but about everyone who is promised support in job hunting.
Besides that, how will I ever find a job if that is the SUPPORT they offer?
Thursday 8 October 2009
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Health and the Mature Worker
"Much is being written about the value of retaining and recruiting older workers. The advantages of having mature employees-baby boomers and members of the Silent Generation preceding them-are well known. They tend to be stable and loyal. Most are highly skilled. Workers with long tenures possess workplace experience and institutional knowledge that is difficult, if not impossible to replace"
The article then goes on to demonstrate the savings in health care etc when older employees stay in the workforce and rthe positive impact on health.
Maybe our government should be offering more incentives to employers to keep older workers.
Read this article in full at http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-137019342/benefits-keep-mature-workers.html.
The article then goes on to demonstrate the savings in health care etc when older employees stay in the workforce and rthe positive impact on health.
Maybe our government should be offering more incentives to employers to keep older workers.
Read this article in full at http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-137019342/benefits-keep-mature-workers.html.
Now THIS IS a good siite
I would recommend you take the time to read these postings on the TALK.SAGECO.COM link below
http://talk.sageco.com.au/2009/09/
http://talk.sageco.com.au/2009/09/
A Positive Note
At last a professional agency that is seeing the benefits of the older worker rather than trying to place you in menial jobs. Its worth a visit
http://www.adage.com.au/
http://www.adage.com.au/
Well if I wasnt depressed before this will do the job!
I decided I would do a bit of digging around to day to find out what exactly the government were doing to help the older worker. There have been policy paper after policy paper and little real effort put into anything that would be an incentive to challenge the discrimination in the recruitment of workers.
I have never ever felt discriminated against because of age until recently in Australia (I work overseas also) but I am really disappointed at the attitudes here now.
This is compounded by the staff at places like centrelink and as I have said previously the Job service providers, the recruitment companies (these are definitely the worst offenders!!) and even the universities - where I have worked for the last 30 years.
The following link put the "icing on the very doomfilled cake"
http://www.aboutseniors.com.au/index.php/articles/category/world_of_work
the list of jobs from the older workers site indicates the level of value that we hold in the community#http://www.olderworkers.com.au/index.php You will note that the top job on this is a personal care worker and the assistant at Sizzlers!
It is certainly time we took some cohesive action and began to demand some sort of affirmative action from the government. All these reports and documents which are disseminated to suggest that the government are doing something are meaningless unless they are backed up by some incentive. You cant tell a 25 year old recruiter to start placing 50+ people in a job - it just doesnt work unless you giver her a reason to do so.
I have never ever felt discriminated against because of age until recently in Australia (I work overseas also) but I am really disappointed at the attitudes here now.
This is compounded by the staff at places like centrelink and as I have said previously the Job service providers, the recruitment companies (these are definitely the worst offenders!!) and even the universities - where I have worked for the last 30 years.
The following link put the "icing on the very doomfilled cake"
http://www.aboutseniors.com.au/index.php/articles/category/world_of_work
the list of jobs from the older workers site indicates the level of value that we hold in the community#http://www.olderworkers.com.au/index.php You will note that the top job on this is a personal care worker and the assistant at Sizzlers!
It is certainly time we took some cohesive action and began to demand some sort of affirmative action from the government. All these reports and documents which are disseminated to suggest that the government are doing something are meaningless unless they are backed up by some incentive. You cant tell a 25 year old recruiter to start placing 50+ people in a job - it just doesnt work unless you giver her a reason to do so.
Please write to me if you are concerned about the situation and we can begin to make our voice heard. Let's not go down without a fight!
Remember this situation is often worse for women than many men. You may recall that women were simply not able to pay superannuation until much later and for those who were divorced many were left without a superannuation payout and many simply cannot retire.
Monday 5 October 2009
Job "Dis-service" Providers
I feel like I am turning into one of those grizzly old women that complain about everything.
Maybe I am just like that! But, to tell the truth I am fed up to the teeth with the lack of service from the government supported job service providers. They are feted as the governments commitment to the unemployed or newly unemployed.
Last week I walked over again to the "job service provider" to attend my mandatory sessions...you may remember I am contracted to attend their office twice a week or else I am in breach of contract and will not receive my unemployment benefit. I walked into the office to be told immediately that there were no computers and to come back tomorrow.
Am I the only person who finds this unacceptable? That little trip took 3 hours out of my job seeking that day and what is more the response from my "consultant" was "Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it". These people are funded to provide a job seeking environment for people and they cant even get together enough computers. Whilst I was there two other people arrived and were sent home also! How disrespectful.
The next day I did the same thing - again NO COMPUTERS and no chairs to sit in!
The next day - again the same thing! !!
Last week I wasted 9 hours trying to fulfill my obligations. It is ridiculous.
Does Julia Gillard have any idea about how her initiatives simply are not working?? Does she even understand that not are they only not working, they are turning recently unemployed job seekers into the long term unemployed?
When I asked the "job services consultant" why they continue to accept people when they do not have the facilities or staff the reply was "Centrelink just keep sending them and we have to take them!!"
So, is the real issue the Centrelink staff or the contractedf Job Service Providers?
I have had some responses from people who have experienced exactly the same lack of support from the particular job service provider.
If you feel you are not being fairly treated please leave a comment. The more people start to voice their concerns the more chance they have of getting an appropriate and helpful SERVICE in place.
After all if you dont find a job then you become a long term unemployed!
Maybe I am just like that! But, to tell the truth I am fed up to the teeth with the lack of service from the government supported job service providers. They are feted as the governments commitment to the unemployed or newly unemployed.
Last week I walked over again to the "job service provider" to attend my mandatory sessions...you may remember I am contracted to attend their office twice a week or else I am in breach of contract and will not receive my unemployment benefit. I walked into the office to be told immediately that there were no computers and to come back tomorrow.
Am I the only person who finds this unacceptable? That little trip took 3 hours out of my job seeking that day and what is more the response from my "consultant" was "Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it". These people are funded to provide a job seeking environment for people and they cant even get together enough computers. Whilst I was there two other people arrived and were sent home also! How disrespectful.
The next day I did the same thing - again NO COMPUTERS and no chairs to sit in!
The next day - again the same thing! !!
Last week I wasted 9 hours trying to fulfill my obligations. It is ridiculous.
Does Julia Gillard have any idea about how her initiatives simply are not working?? Does she even understand that not are they only not working, they are turning recently unemployed job seekers into the long term unemployed?
When I asked the "job services consultant" why they continue to accept people when they do not have the facilities or staff the reply was "Centrelink just keep sending them and we have to take them!!"
So, is the real issue the Centrelink staff or the contractedf Job Service Providers?
I have had some responses from people who have experienced exactly the same lack of support from the particular job service provider.
If you feel you are not being fairly treated please leave a comment. The more people start to voice their concerns the more chance they have of getting an appropriate and helpful SERVICE in place.
After all if you dont find a job then you become a long term unemployed!
Friday 25 September 2009
Bullying in the workplace
I was going to write the next part of the job seeking saga but I read something today that made me incandescent!
The cover story in the Sydney Morning Herald was about women who bully other women in the workplace. It is an unsurprising article by Kath Lockett but still very disappointing.
Bullying in the workplace makes me really angry. I know my response to this is not just because it is plain old fashioned wrong but also because I have been subjected to it myself and I know the impact of it on the victim...and make no bones about it ..that is exactly what you are.
When you are the chosen subject of the bully you start to think that you must be stupid or incompetent or lazy or anythign they try to throw at you - you start to believe this even though there is so much evidence to the contrary.
Using myself for example - I have worked for many years in universities throughout the UK and Australia. I have been asked to stay on when I resigned, I have had letters of appreciation from various management boards, I have worked long hours willingly and enthusiastically and most of all I know the ropes. But then some new manager comes along (often a woman I regret to say) and decides you are not the person she wants in that job(often she wants to bring in her own staff) so suddenly you are loaded with extra work - you are being checked up on and those people you interact with are asked to report back to the manager on all your work, you are marginalised and kept from meetings, you are ignored in meetings, you are called in to private meetings and told how incompetent you are and the pressure to make life unpleasant for you is increased daily until you are a nervous wreck and really can't cope. In my case I went to the doctor who told me that this is a straight forward case of bullying and to lodge a workcover certificate. Her support was vital to me. I had felt isolated until this doctor made me look at what was going on.
But here is where the system fails the individual - first of all the workcover officer in the university is paid by the university and represents the university which is my case is self insured. So, it comes as no surprise to know that the role she/he has to undertake is to look after the university (or their employer). So you are being forced to attend ridiculous pyschiatric testing and the implication is that you are a trouble maker and causing issues, you are forced to give lengthy statements in front of external legal staff - remember all this is when you are on workrelated stress leave anyway.
So who do you go to? I tried the union as I have been a union member for 30 years they were the logical first step. That was a mistake - when you work in a university the unions have little staff and those industrial officers that are allocated are often not interested in the individual but are more interested in the enterprise bargaining tole they have. In my case the industrial officer failed to be available for meetings, she never called me back despite 3 calls and 2 visits to the office ALL at a time when I had been notified that I was to be terminated. I never got support from the union and I now advise everyone to forget joining the union in this sector....and this is from someone who was a union officer for many years. (In my case my industrial officer didn't actually start work until 10am at the earliest in a university where most staff starts at 8.30am. the reason given was because she lived too far away. As a paid up member I feel there is a big question there about recruiting a paid staff member who lives too far away to do her job)
Whilst I had a lot of support from people I had worked for prior to this new head of school arriving and they were willing to speak up for me. My own staff that had reported to me were very happy to speak up also. The pressure that I was put under by the university made it just too hard and too stressful. I was even told by the workcover officer that my previous boss had not supported me - that was an outright porky pie.
For all Julia Gillard's good intentions there is no happy ending for those who are bullied at work unless they have enough money to employ expensive solicitors..
Incidentally I was told that as a union member I was entitled to a free meeting with a union solicitor -I needed this because I had no idea of my rights regarding the termination. Despite my requesting either the name of the solicitor so that I could make an appointment or the appointment time I was NEVER given the information and the time that I could take action passed. Once again I stress - forget joining a union now - they either dont have the resources or they dont have the staff to be effective and it is best not to have expectations of assistance rather than feel the disappointment of the lack of support when you have paid your union fees.
The cover story in the Sydney Morning Herald was about women who bully other women in the workplace. It is an unsurprising article by Kath Lockett but still very disappointing.
Bullying in the workplace makes me really angry. I know my response to this is not just because it is plain old fashioned wrong but also because I have been subjected to it myself and I know the impact of it on the victim...and make no bones about it ..that is exactly what you are.
When you are the chosen subject of the bully you start to think that you must be stupid or incompetent or lazy or anythign they try to throw at you - you start to believe this even though there is so much evidence to the contrary.
Using myself for example - I have worked for many years in universities throughout the UK and Australia. I have been asked to stay on when I resigned, I have had letters of appreciation from various management boards, I have worked long hours willingly and enthusiastically and most of all I know the ropes. But then some new manager comes along (often a woman I regret to say) and decides you are not the person she wants in that job(often she wants to bring in her own staff) so suddenly you are loaded with extra work - you are being checked up on and those people you interact with are asked to report back to the manager on all your work, you are marginalised and kept from meetings, you are ignored in meetings, you are called in to private meetings and told how incompetent you are and the pressure to make life unpleasant for you is increased daily until you are a nervous wreck and really can't cope. In my case I went to the doctor who told me that this is a straight forward case of bullying and to lodge a workcover certificate. Her support was vital to me. I had felt isolated until this doctor made me look at what was going on.
But here is where the system fails the individual - first of all the workcover officer in the university is paid by the university and represents the university which is my case is self insured. So, it comes as no surprise to know that the role she/he has to undertake is to look after the university (or their employer). So you are being forced to attend ridiculous pyschiatric testing and the implication is that you are a trouble maker and causing issues, you are forced to give lengthy statements in front of external legal staff - remember all this is when you are on workrelated stress leave anyway.
So who do you go to? I tried the union as I have been a union member for 30 years they were the logical first step. That was a mistake - when you work in a university the unions have little staff and those industrial officers that are allocated are often not interested in the individual but are more interested in the enterprise bargaining tole they have. In my case the industrial officer failed to be available for meetings, she never called me back despite 3 calls and 2 visits to the office ALL at a time when I had been notified that I was to be terminated. I never got support from the union and I now advise everyone to forget joining the union in this sector....and this is from someone who was a union officer for many years. (In my case my industrial officer didn't actually start work until 10am at the earliest in a university where most staff starts at 8.30am. the reason given was because she lived too far away. As a paid up member I feel there is a big question there about recruiting a paid staff member who lives too far away to do her job)
Whilst I had a lot of support from people I had worked for prior to this new head of school arriving and they were willing to speak up for me. My own staff that had reported to me were very happy to speak up also. The pressure that I was put under by the university made it just too hard and too stressful. I was even told by the workcover officer that my previous boss had not supported me - that was an outright porky pie.
For all Julia Gillard's good intentions there is no happy ending for those who are bullied at work unless they have enough money to employ expensive solicitors..
Incidentally I was told that as a union member I was entitled to a free meeting with a union solicitor -I needed this because I had no idea of my rights regarding the termination. Despite my requesting either the name of the solicitor so that I could make an appointment or the appointment time I was NEVER given the information and the time that I could take action passed. Once again I stress - forget joining a union now - they either dont have the resources or they dont have the staff to be effective and it is best not to have expectations of assistance rather than feel the disappointment of the lack of support when you have paid your union fees.
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