
Issue No 92		20 April 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Important First Step for E-Mail Privacy

The NSW Government has flagged it will move to place legal safeguards against employers spying on emails in the workplace, following intense lobbying from the trade union movement.

While the policy has not been officially released, Attorney general bob Debus has released details of the package to a Sunday newspaper, stating that legislation would be introduced into the next session of Parliament.

The legislation flows from a long-awaited report from the NSW Law Reform Commission report into Surveillance - which is expected to be released in the next few weeks.

If enacted, the legislation would place NSW at the forefront of Internet privacy internationally

From what we can ascertain, the Government is proposing to import the safeguards its developed against video surveillance in the workplace to the Internet.

This would mean that covert surveillance is outlawed unless an employer can show a reasonable suspicion of wrong-doing, while overt surveillance would require the consent of the employee.

The Report proposes that the Industrial Relations Commission would provide warrants for covert surveillance, with reasons needing to be given, particularly where the monitoring is to gauge work performance. The IRC would also have the ability to issue penalties for breaches of the legislation.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 92 contents

Interview: Beyond the Accord
Simon Crean cut his teeth in the trade union movement, now he's gearing up to run the economy.

Politics: In Defence of Della�s List
The proposition that trade unions should ask members of the ALP for a commitment that they uphold Party policy should hardly be controversial.

Corporate: The Real Rorters
The unspoken sore of the WorkCover Scheme is non-compliance by employers. None more so that in the construction industry, as this CFMEU paper details.

Legal: In the Real World
Lawyer Ross Goodridge exposes the defficincies in the new medical assessment guidelines for workers compensation by looking at real case studies.

International: The Docklands and Global Labour
Ma Wei Pin and Jasper Goss recount how the struggle of a group of Indonesian hotel workers effected a lucrative Melbourne contract.

History: Sweatshops in America
Since the dawning of the Industrial Revolution, many generations of Americans have toiled in sweatshops.

Unions: Losers Never Start
At the end of her six week vigil, Grenadier delegate Michelle Booth gave her heartfelt thanks to the trade union movement.

Review: Working Classes: Global Realities
The Socialist Register 2001 looks at class realities and the lives of workers in the new century.

Satire: Democrats Change Leader
The Democrats have a new leader after belatedly discovering that Meg Lees had become the second Democrats leader in a row to defect to another party.

» Costa To Join Della�s List

» Compo Campaign Gathers Steam

» Della�s List: Dissident MPs Targeted

» Day of Mourning to be Compo Focus

» Small Steps in Negotiations � But Hard Yards Still to Come

» Important First Step for E-Mail Privacy

» Outraged Cleaners Continue AXA Axings Protests

» Grenadier Picket Ends � But Legacy Lives On

» Entitlement Dramas in Health and Printing

» Nurses Still Waiting on Olympics Bonus

» IRC Delays Hit Eight Month Barrier

» Claims of Dirty Tricks Conspiracy at Mobil

» Sydney Water Workers On Strike

» MUA Rides Anti-pollution Wave

» Governments Urged On Child Slavery

» Time To Act on Pay Discrimination

» Construction Union Supports Folk Festival

» Activists Notebook