Industrial Relations (IDRL) 308

Overview

Industrial Relations 308: Occupational Health and Safety is a three-credit, senior-level course that examines issues of worker health and safety (and life and death) within their political and economic contexts and in the workplace. Over the past three decades, the field of occupational health and safety has grown and developed, and an extensive amount scientific and technical knowledge on the subject has accumulated. Nevertheless, conflicts among practitioners and scholars, on even the most basic questions, still persist. These disagreements are driven by inherent differences in interest and power between workers and employers (or labour and capital, if you will), which together form the conditions of industrial relations. Scientific arguments often disguise the real debate, which concerns the value attached to preserving the life and health of workers in the workplace. Occupational health and safety cannot be examined without also considering the power dynamics that operate both within and around the job.

Outline

• Unit 1: Occupational Health and Safety: An Introduction
• Unit 2: Hazards and Agents
• Unit 3: Workplace Interventions
• Unit 4: Critical Perspectives on OHS

Evaluation

To receive credit for IDRL 308, you must complete four online quizzes and two written assignments, write a final examination, achieve a minimum grade of D (50%) or better on the final examination, and obtain an overall grade of at least“D” (50 percent) on the entire course. The weighting of the composite course grade is as follows:

The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.