Union wins an independent review of AQF accreditation

As part of the new national rail safety legislation the Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council (TLISC) is working towards standardising competency accreditation for rail drivers across all states.

Initial drafts from TLISC looking at criteria to be used to determine skill levels have concerned the union because they’d been prepared with no analysis or research, and indicated that drivers who are currently at AQF Level 4 would be downgraded to AQF Level 3.

The TLISC drafts also talked about measuring the accreditation of drivers not just by their skills and knowledge, but by the complexity of the rail system on which they work – rather than acknowledging the high level of risk that ALL drivers carry whether their route is ‘simple’ or complex’.

The RTBU has now been successful in gaining an independent review of the competency matrix for train drivers which will be conducted by the not-for-profit public company Transport and Logistics Centre (TALC). The review will provide fresh, objective analysis removed from politics and economics. If done correctly, this process should remove any ambiguity around the interpretation of the six criteria for competency and ultimately keep drivers at AQF Level 4.

This major step – ensuring the competencies and AQF levels for train drivers are relevant, logical and are placed at the properly determined level – was only successful due to the united position of the National Locomotive Division.

Loco Division Secretary, Bob Hayden said, “Even though there is now a lot to do, I believe that this achievement should be acknowledged, considering that the TLISC had already determined, with no basis, that train crew would be placed at the AQF Level 3. The National Office should also be congratulated for all its efforts and for the continued support the National Locomotive Division.”

“As always, it is through the united effort and support of each other that we can achieve this type of outcome. Congratulations all,” added Shayne Kummerfeld, QLD Branch Organiser.

LocoExpress will keep members updated on this issue.