A trade union leader has called on employers to curtail electronic surveillance of employees in the workplace. The senior Irish representative of MSF, Mr Jerry Shanahan, says that the union will call for Government legislation if it cannot agree mutually-acceptable protocols with the companies involved.
So far only a small number of MSF members had experienced problems, Mr Shanahan said yesterday, but it was a worrying trend. "The emerging information society is leading to a rapidly increasing reliance on electronic means of communication in the workplace", he said. "Many members use electronic mail and the Internet as part of their everyday work.
"MSF is pressing for workplace regulation of employee monitoring through agreements to cover forms of surveillance such as telephone monitoring, software programs to observe and record computer use, close circuit TV and video, employee movements and work patterns, generic and genetic screening."