Under grilling from Labor Senator Kim Carr during a Senate committee hearing on July 8,Australia Post's chief executive Christine Holgate was repeatedly asked whether the government-owned company was monitoring senior staff members,including by sweeping for bugs and checking phone records,after leaks toThe Sydney Morning HeraldandThe Age.
Ms Holgate deferred her answers but in responses to questions on notice Australia Post said it had"a risk-based security program – including to preserve the integrity and security of confidential and sensitive information – that takes into account best practice standards". It said details of the program were commercial-in-confidence and that,if the details were to become public,it would hurt Australia Post.
Senator Carr said the company's response was a"lawyer's weasel words"for confirmation the company was allegedly surveilling its staff,which he said would be"highly irregular". A spokeswoman for Australia Post declined to comment while the Senate committee inquiry,which is due to report in August,was under way.
The Communications,Electrical and Plumbing Union,which represents postal workers,said Australia Post should give a"straight answer"to questions about staff surveillance."The fact that Australia Post is avoiding answering simple questions about whether or not they have surveilled their staff is very concerning,"said the union's national president,Shane Murphy.
As more businesses let their employees work from home,monitoring software to check productivity and keep sensitive information secure has become more common and is generally not unlawful. Major companies including Google,which denied the allegations,have been accused of spying on their workers in recent years.
Senator Carr also took aim at Australia Post's claim of"commercial-in-confidence"to limit its answers to questions about a leaked 2018 strategic review of the company from consulting firm PwC. The draft review included options like increasing letter delivery times,which resemble some of the temporary changes the government has made to help Australia Post through the pandemic.
"The claims of commercial-in-confidence are spurious given the strategic plan has been given widespread public media coverage,"Senator Carr said.