CBA criticised for secret surveillance of staff and forcing workers to take leave

Australia’s biggest bank has been criticised for conducting secret surveillance on staff in a move that has been labelled as “unacceptable”.

The Commonwealth Bank has been slammed for spying on staff with claims the data being collected should not be “used as a tool to intimidate staff”.

Australia’s biggest bank is accused of harvesting information such as physical attendance and computer data and using this to force workers to apply for leave if their activity suggests they aren’t being productive enough.

Team leaders are being encouraged to “interrogate suspected cases of absenteeism, half-dayism and long lunchism, especially if trends appear to form”, reported The Australian.

CBA staff are concerned that they are under surveillance and being spied on by the bank through a system said to measure their computer activity, said Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano.

“It is unacceptable for an employer to set up a system to track an employees’ work activity without their knowledge and agreement,” she told news.com.au.

“The CBA has failed to notify the Finance Sector Union that it has instigated widespread employee surveillance. We call on the CBA to cease all spying on our members.

“Using data collected from any such surveillance must not be used to take disciplinary action against CBA staff or direct them to take leave.”

Julia Angrisano is national secretary of the Finance Sector Union which is the union for bank employees. Picture. Hollie Adams/The Australian

It is a basic human right for policies and processes around any form of surveillance to be transparent with information available to employees and their union, she added.

CBA declined to respond to questions from news.com.au but told The Australian that it collects data on employees using a mobile app called Navigate, which it said allows staff to “access the building where they work, book meeting rooms and find their colleagues”.

“The information we collect has been useful in ensuring our people stay in touch in the various ways of work we support at CBA or, for example, to record the appropriate type of leave taken when our employees take leave or are off work,” a spokesman said.

“This has been especially helpful throughout and post-Covid as people have returned to the office, allowing us to better manage space in our corporate offices.”

The CBA said it collects data on employees using a mobile app called Navigate. Picture: David Clark Photography

Ms Angrisano said while the union accepts that workplaces are changing, it is important that workplace laws governing issues such as surveillance are adequate to protect the rights of employees.

“While we do not believe this type of surveillance is useful or appropriate the conditions of any such surveillance must be negotiated through the CBA Enterprise Agreement,” she said.

“Workers have a right to know how any data collected is being used and it should never be used as a tool to intimidate or to place pressure on employees to take leave.”

It comes at a time when soaring interest rates helped the CBA report a record $5.15 billion in first half profits, but it was criticised for achieving the massive win on the back of “overworked” staff who need a “significant pay rise”.

Originally published as CBA criticised for secret surveillance of staff and forcing workers to take leave