Letting bosses check workers’ email to protect national security is like leaving a seven-year-old to guard the ice cream armed only with a spoon.
It’s about the most stupid idea you could imagine, made even worse by the way it has been announced.
It’s clear the press release was written on a day when the Rudd government’s best press secretaries were busily spinning the announcement of our first female Governor-General.
It’s not even law - it’s a proposal - yet the way it’s been reported you would think starting today bosses can just start scrutinising everyone’s email.
In fact, the real story is there is a proposal to enact legislation to allow certain employers who provide services critical to the economy to look at employees’ mail and net use some time in the future.
Companies that are involved in the financial system, stock exchange, the electricity grid and transport systems.
But unfortunately, because of the clumsiness of the Government, all people will hear is ‘your boss can legally look at your emails’.
So from now on no worker will dare raise an objection when their boss trawls through their stuff to find a pretext to warn or sack them.
Or even just drops the odd smart arse remark, after prying into the private details of their workers’ correspondence.
Thanks a lot, Julia. And you’re meant to be one of the workers’ friends.
If it wasn’t happening already it’s definitely going to happen now, given the comments readers have been leaving today on LIVENEWS.com.au
"I had an employer who felt it was his right to read all my emails when I was out of the office; he would go through my desk drawers as well as re arrange my desk,” says James.
“I missed important work emails due to his Voyeuristic Fetish. When this happens you feel violated. I don't know what he was looking for; he never found it because I never had anything I shouldn't have. He was a director; he felt he can do what he likes; it is his company so it is his PC. “
And of course there were those finger-lickers who can’t wait to stick up for the poor boss no matter what the issue at hand might be.
From the kind of people who obviously didn’t’ realise The Office was a comedy.
“You all seem to be missing the point. Company email is precisely that...COMPANY email. You as an employee have absolutely NO rights over it,” says Geoff.
“If your email is "private" then DO NOT use your employer's email system. USE YOUR OWN or accept scrutiny. Snivel libertarians GO AWAY.”
Only problem with this approach is that it doesn’t take into account the changing nature of the workforce. Australians are working longer and harder than ever before – it’s now completely normal for people to take work calls out of hours, to do unpaid overtime and to work on urgent matter from home.
And with that flexibility comes the imperative that bosses need to come to the party and allow workers to conduct private business and deal with personal matters in the workplace.
Government should be pushing bosses to let employees access Facebook, surf the web unrestricted and to refrain from surveilling their personal correspondence.
Not giving them the excuse to spy on their employees for any reason.
But at the end of the day I suppose it wasn’t a bad weekend.
We got a female G-G, so maybe it’s worth a ham-fisted attempt at looking tough on national security.
