Air Canada is getting some pushback from workers in the wake of its introduction of biometric attendance-tracking, according to a CJAD News report by Trudie Mason. The fingerprint scanners have been implemented at airports in Toronto, Halifax, and Montreal.The use of biometric attendance-tracking technology seems to be on the rise, appearing everywhere from a community recreation centre to a major telecommunications company. Interestingly, while its application tends to be promoted as an administrative efficiency, cutting down on time and material costs for managers by simplifying the tracking of employees, in Air Canada’s case it has been more explicitly to cut down on employee fraud with respect to inaccurate attendance records, echoing a similar application in a Mexican bakery chain.
With that in mind, the resistance of certain employees makes a lot of sense, though it must be noted that their arguments have revolved around privacy issues – a growing area of concern as biometric technology continues to integrate into everyday like and the workplace. Official grievances have been filed by the employees’ union, and those are in the process of assessment now.
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January 26, 2015 – by Alex Perala
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