[Greens-Media] Media Release: The Victorian Government's workplace privacy decision - a very small response to a big issue say the Greens

[Greens Victoria Media]

Media Release: for immediate use
Thursday August 24, 2006
Contact: Sue Pennicuik on (mob) 0407 000 270

A very small response to the big issue of workplace privacy say the Greens

Not only long overdue, but patently inadequate. That's the Greens 
verdict on the Victorian  Government's response to the Victorian Law 
Reform Commission's (VLRC) report on workplace privacy legislation.

"Victorians have been waiting since last October for state government 
action on this report," said Sue Pennicuik, the Greens Industrial 
Relations spokesperson and candidate for the Southern Metropolitan Upper 
House Region. "But when we finally get it, we find that the Government has
chosen to implement just one of the 65 recommendations - by amending the 
existing Surveillance Devices Act to protect employees from surveillance 
in toilets and washrooms. ”

"This is just basic stuff. We need much more than this," said Ms Pennicuik.

The VLRC called for a Workplace Privacy Act to regulate the many more, 
equally invasive practices in the workplace and also for an independent 
regulator.

"Workers really do need the protection of a regulator who can 
investigate and resolve complaints about workplace privacy breaches," 
said Ms Pennicuik.

"The Report says that more and more workers are being subjected to 
surveillance, monitoring and testing, and that workers' privacy is not 
adequately protected" said Sue Pennicuik. "Yet the state government is 
doing virtually nothing about it. This 'one of sixty five' response is 
totally inadequate."

"New South Wales has already enacted broad workplace privacy laws and 
Victoria should be doing so too," said Ms Pennicuik.

The Greens in state parliament after the November 25 election will work 
to enact a comprehensive Workplace Privacy Act based on the privacy 
standards proposed in the VLRC report.

For more information and comment, please call
Sue Pennicuik on (mob) 0407 000 270
or
Dave Lane on (mob) 0419 156 213

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