Unpaid Internship

Hey Dears,

As I mentioned briefly on my previous posts that i was doing a work placement at Canada Post. 

So I will talk about this placement today. 

Basically, I was fortunate to be part of the placement program. Usually, the Labour studies Department under the Faculty of Arts, offers an opportunity to participate in this program once in every two years. So this is what happens, the co-coordinators place you at a workplace and you have to learn from that workplace while reporting daily to your professor. I find this course a learning experiencing with real life applications. You also have to write a research paper on the project you choose to work on. The course is called LABR4510 and LABR4520. The course also includes a seminar class where you discuss all your coursework and guide you in your writing skills. You do not get paid however you do get credit hours for it.

So, I was placed in a crown corporation-Canada Post. For my fall semester, I worked with Occupational Health and Safety Department where I job shadowed the supervisors. I conducted workplace inspections, daily management meetings, observing how employees do their tasks and whether they apply safety measures and so many other duties that you could think of a safety officer would perform. I was lucky to have seen how safety officers work both outside the plant and inside the plant. At the end of the term placement,  i worked on a safety campaign project on how to deal with stress at the workplace. My project was titled "wellness from stress". In addition, I also had to come up on a safety action plan.

As for the winter semester, I am working with the Labour Relations Officers (LRO) . I worked with Anitha who introduced me to the grievance system, John Sharpe who introduced me into LRO duties, John Dawson and I went deeper into analyzing grievances and I having a review on them then Hannah and I worked mainly on the arbitration process,from the start to the end. Well, it was good and bad that an arbitration hearing was cancelled because we resolved all the files. 

Last week, I just presented my project on "Duty to accommodate on the basis of family status". I'm hoping to attend an arbitration hearing on March 14th if the hearing goes through. 

Overall, I think this work placement is what makes my program unique and special. The fact that Labour studies has this kind of program is a plus plus for a university student like me who is just at the university to get an education and enter the job market and "maybe" go further to specialize. Otherwise, I would recommend this program to anyone so long as they know what they will do with it. You can branch into Law school after or go on with the Human resource side. With me? I don't know what is laying ahead but all i know for now is that i'll be done this year and enter the world of work.

Trends in the workplace

Hey Dears,

Taken from: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileageplus-consolidated/1369190-new-united-flight-attendant-uniforms-here-7.html

Hope y'll are having a "right" week. Well, today's topic was inspired by my one and only young sister Antoinetta. She is only seven years old and she tells me that she wants to be a air-hostess when she's "big". Then again she will say she wants to be a receptionist like me. I once worked as a receptionist that's why. Anyways, no body knows what lies ahead.

So, back to me,  I decided to look up a few airline uniforms mainly looking at flight attendants. Some of the Airlines, I traveled with but others i'm yet to. I also kept down the link below the image on where i got the pictures. I was only keen on the picture without reading the whole story. I just skimmed through and right clicked "save as...". The topics were interesting.

 Click on the link below the picture for more details to read on your own :)

In no particular order,

AIR CANADA

taken from http://o.canada.com/2013/05/27/air-canada-rouge-uniforms/

DELTA

Taken from: http://thepointsguy.com/2012/08/travel-tuesday-top-10-fashion-forward-flight-attendant-uniforms/

UNITED AIRLINE

Taken from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/06/25/united-rolls-out-new-uniforms-for-attendants-others/2455651/

DELTA

taken from: http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/delta-flight-attendant-uniforms-over-the-years/

LUFTHANSA

Taken from: http://www.departures.com/slideshows/high-style-flight-attendant-uniforms/5

AIR TANZANIA

Taken from: http://www.tanzany.com/tag/air-tanzania/

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINE

Taken from: http://nazret.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/28/ethiopian-airline-s-cabin-crew-ground-technicians-complain-of-being-overworked-underpaid

VIRGIN AMERICA

Taken from: http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckBlogId=Blog:7a78f54e-b3dd-4fa6-ae6e-dff2ffd7bdbb&plckPostId=Blog%3A7a78f54e-b3dd-4fa6-ae6e-dff2ffd7bdbbPost%3A15657879-7319-4928-9910-8e4da60cbe26

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

taken from: http://thepointsguy.com/2012/08/travel-tuesday-top-10-fashion-forward-flight-attendant-uniforms/

PRECISION AIRWAYS

Taken from: http://precisionairnews.blogspot.ca/

KOREAN AIR

Taken from: http://thepointsguy.com/2012/08/travel-tuesday-top-10-fashion-forward-flight-attendant-uniforms/

KLM

taken from: http://thepointsguy.com/2012/08/travel-tuesday-top-10-fashion-forward-flight-attendant-uniforms/

KENYA AIRWAYS

Taken from: http://worldscrews.blogspot.ca/2012_03_01_archive.html

WESTJET

Taken from: http://worldscrews.blogspot.ca/2012_03_01_archive.html

QATAR AIR

Taken from: http://worldscrews.blogspot.ca/2012_03_01_archive.html

EMIRATES 

Taken from: http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircraft-pictures/2009/07/for-uniforms-emirates-distance/

I could go on and on...the list is endless. These are my picks. Hope you liked them xx

Labour Factfile

 Today's thought by Sam Goldwyn,

"I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs."

Mmmhhh would you? Are you one of them who isn't afraid to speak nothing but the truth to your boss???















Till then xx

Laugh Out Loud

Hey Dears,

Happy Saturday! Enjoy the first MonLabourWorld joke!

 If a train station is where the train stops and,

a bus station is where the bus stops, 

what is a work station?

Till then xx

Trends in the workplace

Hey Dears,

Today, I thought I should share my critics in the way working people dress. Well, it may seem too obvious that a person has to dress appropriate at all times. However, sometimes you would be amazed with what people wear at work. Some writings or images or graffiti on t shirts/shirts might be insulting should never be allowed which is my first point here. Then again the level of covering up the "goodies" is another issue.

Well,  this is what i think for a typical male and female going to work.
 googleimages

Yes! im still very traditional i guess :)

And also those with tattoos should cover them while at work. Its a free world yes but i just think thats the way a workplace should be! this is my opinion and you are not subjected to agree with me neither am i subjected to your opinion.

 googleimages

Happy new week! Enjoy xxx

Linkedin Vs Facebook

My dear readers

Todays post was inspired by most of my friends graduating this year.

I woke up every early ( jetlag issues) then as i was wondering in bed, i came to think about taking LinkedIn serious. I love facebook because i get to keep in touch in my friends over seas. I also love twitter for breaking news and just reading tweets. However, my love for  LinkedIn beats it all. LinkedIn is professional and yet entertaining. i spent a few hours reading a few articles in Linkedin and thats when i decided im totally gonna put an eye on it.

So my dears lets connect on Linkedin and be professional who knows what opportunities might arise from it.

Have a good day!

                                  

Pensions & Benefits

Hey Dears

   So this time, one of my summer courses is Pensions & Benefits (LABR3140) taught by Karen Naylor. It is quite interesting to learn about Pensions. I know most people hardly know anything about Pensions beside them being deducted off their pay check. Well, its important to get some knowledge on them. One should know the kind of pensions he or she is eligible to...is it a defined benefit or contributory? A defined benefit pension is the one which an employer promises to give you a certain amount of money after you retire- Usually every month. There are terms and conditions that come with this...for instance, how many years you have worked with the employer?...It usually depends how the amount of money will be calculated. Again, there are ways to calculate it like by taking:

the accural rate x salary/earnings x pensionable service 

for instance 3% x 60,000 x 30yrs

The common used way of calculating pension benefit also known as the "gold plate" where the calculation will be based on your best working years for instance the highest period within the ten years so your last five years. It depends. I'm just giving examples. Or the other method of pensions benefit plan is by unknown earnings where it will depend.

The other type of pensions is called defined contribution pension. As it says, "contribution" so both the employee and employer do have to put in a certain amount of money into the plan. It will be difficult to have an actual figure on how much pension will be given back once an employee retires. So the actuaries become useful here, they help in assuming how much will be given back based on the life expectancy and the investment returns from the funds.

So my dears, don't just let that money go off the pay check without knowing whats going on...its good to find out & understand how things are running. I'm always happy with a clear mind. Besides, Its your right to acquire knowledge about anything based on given opportunities... You have a Right to know, Right to Participate and Right to Refuse. There you go...Be sure to find out what type of pension plan you are in? In the first place, Does your workplace have pensions plan?

xxx

Trends in the workplace

Hi Dears

     Its a been a minute...I'm sure y'all missed my ramblings :) Im back.. be happy!

We all know sometimes life gets too catchy....but anyways, Thank God for the breath of life.So as for today, i'll share some of my friends' outfits that grabbed my attention for the"Trends in the workplace" category.

   My generation is now getting ready for the workplace.Most of my friends will be graduating this year from university and others next year. Well, some have been employed already...some are self employed & others are yet to be employed but they are getting there soon enough. After saying that, i really think this category will lighten up their dress codes at work.

 Enjoy xxx

Neema in purple

Funwa in colour blocking-purple with blue greenish

Tunu in Red and Black

Trends in the workplace

Heh! My dears, who said the workplace can not be a stylish place????? 

You actually have to look fabolous at work at all times because thats where you spend most of the time. Imagine looking "ewww" for a 40 hour week...as in 8hours a day, five days a week, thats a typical working week for many people. 

So yeah, looking fab pays in many ways...First of all, you feel confident. You feel good when u dress bien.So that self fulfillment and satisfaction is already a good feeling and motivation for you to work better. 

None the less, some workplaces have uniforms. But still that doesnt stop you from looking fab!  Anyways, so since its all about the workplace, I am introducing to u, my dears, a category called 

"Trends in the workplace"

This will feature different trends in the working industry. Not necessarily based on seasons(spring,summer,autumn and winter) or the "up-to-date fashion". It will include a mix of old styles, cultures, gender etc. I will display pictures of "my taste" of a typical working girl or boy or both...if u have ideas feel free to share them too.

Photo Credits to Krisztinawilliams.. Get more from http://www.krisztinawilliams.com/2013/03/style-guide-2-ways-to-wear-modern.html

I'll start with myself. I worked at Ilboru Safari Lodge in Arusha Tanzania.
The Masai print (Culture) was once the uniform at the restaurant.

                                                The pictures were taken way back in 2010

 xxx

Bullying

Hey dears,

Did u know bullying, violence and harassment happens at the workplace too?

Have u ever felt bullied while working?

Today, i'll write about bullying. 

Actually, instead of writing....i'll share my notes with you since they are straight forward and worth knowing.

There are different types of bullying as illustrated below:

The Constant Critic

Dear Managers please be sure to differentiate between good management vs Bullying.

I hope you have become a step wiser by adding more knowledge on bullying at the workplace xxx

Social Networks

Hey dears,

When it comes to the issue of social networks.....I Shake My Head!

    There is facebook for everything, Twitter for tweets and more of current issues alert, Instagram for uploading pictures only, then Keek for 36 seconds videos and now even for 6 seconds video( I forgot the name). well, there are just too many social programs, the ones i mentioned are just a few common ones. Oh well, then dont forget Whatsupp Viber Ebuddy Bbm and other mobile chatting programs.

     All these programs help us to stay connected. So even no, as i am blogging, all these Blogs help us to connect...making uniting possible.

   However, at the workplace, the use of social networks is strictly prohibited unless during break times and in the exception of certain company's policies. Its even worse when an employee is using the company's asset. In most cases employers premises are monitered. So when u dare facebook or tweet, it directly sends signals to the employer. Therefore to be on the safe side, just avoid social networks at the workplace.

That's all. Till then, xxx

ByeBye Reading Week

Time is flying by so fast my Dears. 

We are now heading towards March as this being the last week in February 2013. 

I had a one week reading break which was quite nice and seemed too short.

I'm now back to school to finish the other half of the semester.

School wise, I have another Op-ed assignment to finish. I will be giving my opinion on how the grievance and arbitration system is a very good way of dealing with problems at the workplace.

Until next time,

xxx

A "village idiot"

Hey Dears,

As i said this semester alot will be going on, as all my courses are based on "Labour relations".

As for last week, I learnt another important work aspect on "Behaviour Based Safety Programs" by Cathy Walker. 

Workplace Behaviour is a very interesting topic to understand because you get to know:

• Aspects like whether it is the employee to blame when incidents like injuries occur at the workplace
• Employer's take on an incident?
• Should Financial incentives at work be enhanced?
• Whats good between internal responsibility system or external responsibility?

So such concepts are well covered by Cathy Walker concerning Behavior Based Safety Programs.

At most times when incidents happen, it is well known to be the employee's fault for being careless or a "village idiot" as referred by Robert Sass, the father of the three worker health and safety rights. Basically the theory assumes that workers are stupid and choose to make bad choices that could be prevented instead of hurting themselves.

Well, I could argue for the rest of my life but to pick a few : 

• The nature or kind of work matters
• Employer's supervision is necessary
• Proper working equipment 
• Proper training and enough knowledge
• Unsafe acts--->unsafe working conditions

Such issues should be taken into consideration before pointing fingers to the employee as being the one at fault in workplace accidents.

With regard to financial incentives, organisations are rewarded for having less injuries. There has been criticism on organisations giving financial incentives to make them not report accidents which is why i asked earlier on should they be improved? is it necessary to have financial incentive?

Last but not least, health inspectors??? is it better for the organisation (internal responsibility) to have their own health and safety committee in the workplace instead of an external source like health inspectors having to monitor their working standards now and then?

Such cases are interesting to know as a worker you should know your right when to be safe.

What do you think of the video? 

Occupational Health and Safety

Hey Dears!

I know its been a while. I did not keep my "stay tuned" promise but again I must say, the workload is just too heavy to handle. I have soo much to tell but the thought of typing kills it. Anyways I still enjoy sharing my "Labour Relations" experience so whenever I can I will.

As for today, I picked one of the current issue assignment i presented on in my Occupational Health and Safety class. It was about the safety of Miners. As we all know each job has a health and safety measure entitled to it. How well do we, employees, feel safe at our workplace? Do we look forward into working in a secured environment each morning? These are just some of the things that need to be taken into account as we proceed working.

So back to Mining!

 I think Mining is one of the most dangerous jobs on this planet! Eish, the thought of going under the ground and not knowing what to face down there, is a bit challenging. So respect to our miners and  a better & safer working environment should be created for them.

There are so many mining incidents that occur. Some are a success story like the one in Peru where the mining rescue team did great to get the miners out of the pit after staying for six days underground. However the success does not come all the time.There are other mining incidents like in China, the Xiaojiawan coal mine disaster that was caused by gas explosion which led to deaths and injuries. Not just in China, but even in Tanzania, we have had severe numbers of mining deaths in the past. 

Again I repeat, Miners face alot of physical hazards like danger of dusts, fire, explosion and electrocution and other hazards like vibration, extreme temperatures, noise, slips, falls, cuts etc...

To think!

So what happens to the families of the victims? Is there any compensation? Is it a fair compensation? Are there any measures to minimize such incidents so as to ensure unsafe work conditions are eliminated from the work place? What happened to Emergency preparedness programs? Will having Unions help?

Have a great Week!

Back to school

Happy 2013 Dears,

Oh wells, another year, another era, another SCHOOL SESSION :)

New challenges, New chances, New opportunities and New professors except for David Camfield whom i took labr1260 with in the last semester.

So im back to school. I had a well rested Christmas Break that i would not trade it for anything. 

This semester I will be doing labour courses alone without any electives, so there will be soo much to talk about in building a better workplace for both employers and employees. 

Stay tuned xxx

Forms of Labour

Usually, we dont exactly take notice of other forms of labour except for the paid labour. If someone says "work", all that comes first in mind is "pay=work". Definitely i had the same thing in mind not untill i walked into my Labour class and learnt about different forms of Labour.

• Unpaid Domestic work
• "free" paid labour
• "unfree" wage labour
• Volunteer labour
• Slave labour

We might be familiar to these forms, but i would like to give a very nice example which my prof used during the lecture.

For instance Child care

• Unpaid Domestic work-when mothers stay at home and take of their kids with no pay of course, nowadays, men too :) *thumbs up*
• "free" paid labour- is when a nanny or "dada" is hired to take care of the kids and paid for doing so
• "unfree" wage labour- care-giver or aupair where a nanny goes to a foreign land and takes care of the kids but she or he is only allowed to stay with that family alone. it is 'unfree" because the nanny is tied to that job and can not freely move to another job.
• Volunteer labour- offering to baby sit for a friend or relative without any form of payment
• Slave labour- when a slave is bought to look after kids ( common in the past)

Having said that, ill show you some forms of labour in picture :)

My trip with Sabrina and Saning'o to Misigiyo village was volunteer labour :)

My trip with Jessica and Diana to Kibaoni school was also volunteer labour :)

The pleasure of volunteering is self, it just feels nice to be able to share your time to those who need it most. Try volunteering as much as you can, you will be shocked how much happiness will be built within self.

"Free" paid labour, my dada Rukia can move freely move whenever and wherever she wants to leave however at the moment its been years and years with her so she is like my blood SISTER. Love her.

Unpaid Domestic work. I remember Pamcakes and I had to look after the kids in one afternoon. That was fun :)

As for slave labour, I dont have any specific picture of my own but i have one taken from Bagamoyo, last year July, as a sample of a slave.

Finally, unfree wage labour,coming soooooooooooon, im thinking of being an aupair so perhaps if all goes well, i'll update you with a picture. As for now, i have nothing to share for "unfree" wage labour.

xxx

Labour Studies?

Hey dears,

So if you are wondering what Labour Studies (L.S) is all about, i would love to share my knowledge with you.

So far im doing one major course called working for a living. I have to complete two of each level to acquire my L.S degree. This means, I have to take two courses from 1000 level, two courses from 2000 level and 2 courses from a 3000 level. This is just a General major degree in labour studies if you want to specialize, you may attempt to go further with masters. 

Anyways, As for now... If you are thinking what is L.S? why LS? where should I take a L.S degree? how? who? etc etc and etc....well, ill try answer some of your questions with what i know.

I'm doing my Labour Studies degree as a major and a minor in management from the University of Manitoba. My main prof is David Camfield. a very good prof, he is even making me like the course more and more and even moooooore....he is very interesting. Karen Naylor is also my other prof plus Julie Guard. Okay, it doesnt matter where you acquire your degree, all in all is the usage. If the opportunities are there then grab them as much as you can because a golden chance never comes twice. I thank God i got this chance to pursue a canadian Labour studies degree.

Soo, what are the elements in L.S?

Personally, I would say LS may be more  political but it has both business and Arts qualities although mostly in Arts. Initially, I wanted a HR degree under Bcomm but then since i had to take maths, which i did but it did not go well, so i had to look for a pathway that would led to the same career of dealing with employees and employers which was why i chose L.S.

With L.S, I get to learn topics like the history of work, how the workplace has changed and what could be done to improve the working conditions. Seriously, when you think about it, we spend alot of our lives working, so basically it is essential to know about the workplace, most of it may be logic but then there may be deeper meanings which is what L.S provides.

Yes, I enjoy my course soo much to an extent i decided to write on it hahaaa

We all know, studying is not easy, and we do not just want to "study to study" as my dad says. We all try to Study with a purpose and atleast say we attend a course and know by the end of the course, something will have changed in terms of expanding our knowledge.

However, sometimes we have no choice but to attend a "filler" or an "elective" course just to fulfill a specific  requirement.

Anyways, feel free to share some of your courses in brief and what you like about them. You can send me an email to zarlgal@yahoo.com and i will publish them or you might want to just mention them below as a comment.

Walk with me as i pursue my Labour degree xxx

Number 1

Together we can make the world a better place. "KARIBU"

Thank you for your time, I would love to take this opportunity to thank you again for visiting zithoinetta.blogspot.ca

To begin with,

Zithoinetta is derived from ZITA and ANTOINETTA.

Zita aka Zitty is the one typing, who made MONLABORWORLD possible. Lets see if Antoinetta will be interested to continue with blogging. But for now, I am the only one writing.

Why are you here?

Okay, this spot right here will act like a "warm bath" after a loooong tideous day.

Basically, I want to share with you my passion for studying towards a Labour degree.

Oh well! EDUCATION! EDUCATION! EDUCATION! Noooo, come down, its not just EDUCATION! EDUCATION! EDUCATION! MONLABORWORLD will consist of everything not just studies although studies will take up most space in the blog. 

The reason "Mon" is there and not just "Labor World" means there's a roller-coaster of events. In life we all have our own interests and desires. The best thing is to have that "done" feeling after accomplishing a desire that you have long craved for. As for me, interacting with people as much as possible, brings in that "done" feeling to have said "I increased my network of connections". Therefore, blogging will enhance my people skill and i hope you enjoy the daily sessions of Monlaborworld. "ASANTE"