The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) of Australia has recently been the subject of criticism for the alleged use of data harvesting to monitor its staff. This has raised serious questions about the ethics of such practices and whether the information collected is being used to intimidate employees.
The data being collected includes physical attendance records, computer activity, and other information related to staff performance. This data is then used to measure productivity and ensure that employees are meeting the bank’s expectations.
Julia Angrisano, national secretary of the Finance Sector Union, has reported the CBA staff are worried that the bank is monitoring and spying on them through a system which supposedly records their computer activity.
“We demand that the CBA cease all employee surveillance and notify the Finance Sector Union that it has been instigated, as it is unacceptable for an employer to set up a system to track an employee’s work activity without their knowledge and consent,” she said.
Ms Angrisano emphasised the importance of having workplace laws that are adequate enough to protect the rights of employees, despite the changing nature of workplaces.
“The CBA Enterprise Agreement must be used to negotiate the conditions of any surveillance of this type, even though we do not think it is either useful or appropriate,” she said.
