More bossess keeping an eye on workers
NEW research commissioned by the Wales TUC from YouGov shows 25% of workers say that they have been subject to greater monitoring by their employers since the Covid19 crisis began.
And only one in four workers believe they have any power to object to or prevent new forms of surveillance by their bosses.
The Wales TUC published its research after Sarah Murphy, the Labour MS for Bridgend, flagged her concerns on the issue at the Senedd.
The union body is calling on the Welsh Government to use its powers and influence to push back against over-reaching employers.
The rapid changes in work brought about by the pandemic have led to a sharp rise in surveillance of people’s activities and performance at work.
These new methods are often being introduced with no consultation with employees – just 29% of those surveyed said they were asked about changes in advance.
The potential impact of heightened surveillance is significant, with more than half of workers (56%) saying that the introduction of new technologies to monitor workplaces damages trust between workers and employers.
The Wales TUC published its research after Sarah Murphy, the Labour MS for Bridgend, flagged her concerns on the issue at the Senedd.
Commenting on the findings, Wales TUC general secretary Shavanah Taj said: “Worker surveillance tech has taken off during this pandemic and there is a real danger that we are sleepwalking into a situation where intrusive and unwarranted monitoring of workers becomes the norm. We have to push back on this before it’s too late.
“These figures paint a worrying picture about the unchecked power that exploitative bosses hold in today’s labour market.
“All proposals for monitoring and work surveillance should be consulted on fully with workers. And it’s vital that the Welsh Government uses what leverage it has to pressure employers into doing the right thing.”
Ms Murphy said: “While conducting my own research with Professor Lina Dencik at the Data Justice Lab at Cardiff University, we interviewed more than 10 different trade unions and found that this oppressive and widespread surveillance is resulting in workers feeling stressed, demotivated, unappreciated and distrusted – breaking down the necessary respect between workers and employers.
“This includes tracking and logging workers’ every move via wristbands, including when they are on toilet breaks; forcing drivers to have to urinate in bottles because an algorithm has set them an impossible number of deliveries for the day so they cannot afford to take a break; and people working from home having facial recognition technology used on them via their laptop without their consent.
“This is extremely concerning, which is why I want to continue to work with the Wales TUC to raise these alarming figures and testimonies with the Welsh and UK governments.”
YouGov’s sample size was 1,030 adults.
The survey was carried out online and the figures were weighted so they would be representative of all adults in Wales aged 16 and over.
Although employment law is not devolved to the Senedd, the forthcoming Social Partnership Bill will give the Welsh Government leverage over private sector companies that have contracts with it or receive aid from it.