Qantas fingerprint plan
By SUSIE O'BRIEN
30jan03
A QANTAS move to use fingerprint scans to monitor the movements of more
than 600 Victorian baggage handlers is expected to spark national
industrial action.
The Victorian workers are among thousands of Qantas staff nationally whose
fingerprints will be scanned during work hours for payroll and monitoring
purposes.
The move, already validated by the industrial commission in other states,
has outraged workers, who say it is a violation of human rights.
Police can obtain fingerprints only from those whom they reasonably suspect
of an offence, or have charged or summonsed for an offence.
This is the latest example in a growing list of cases in which new
technology is used to monitor -- and even sack -- staff.
Others include:
A TELSTRA worker dismissed after sexual material was discovered on the hard
drive of her computer after a routine scan.
A QANTAS employee who was dismissed after sending an e-mail to a co-worker
asking him to buy a restricted drug.
TWO Toyota workers sacked for receiving and sending pornographic material
on the Internet.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for Qantas confirmed a trial was in progress for
the digital scanning of fingerprints for "time and attendance purposes".
She said the union had been fully consulted.
Transport Workers Union senior organiser Wayne Mader told the Herald Sun
there was "no need to improve the current system".
"We are just being guinea pigs for this new technology," Mr Mader said.
"What's next, vein or iris or DNA recognition?
"This process is not even being used for security purposes, but to keep
track of workers' attendance, which is already well supervised."
Workers were considering industrial action in protest, he said.
Bob Herbert, national chief executive of the Australian Industry Group,
said the spectre of terrorism and world war meant most companies were
reviewing their processes.
"Companies are turning to technology for ways to secure their business and
employees," he said.
But Australian Workers Union national secretary Bill Shorten said "some new
devices seem to be setting workers up to fail".
"We can't condone oppressive conduct by workers, but there does need to be
a commonsense approach to the level of monitoring that's going on," he said.
The Victorian Law Reform Commission is investigating the issue of workplace
privacy and will advise the Government on possible legislation.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,5909665%255E2862,00.html
