The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

KEY unions representing healthcare workers are pushing back against the Public Hospitals Authority’s plan to replace badge swiping with biometric fingerprint scanning, arguing the move is not only unlawful, but raises serious privacy concerns.

The PHA announced the planned switch in a notice to staff last week, advising that fingerprint enrolment will begin on Monday, December 1.

The authority said ID badges will no longer be used to clock in and out; instead, employees will use their fingerprint template to record their time and attendance, a move unions say violates the Employment Act. Staff were also advised that they would be issued updated ID badges to meet international standards and enhance security.

Bahamas Public Service (BPSU) union president Kimsley Ferguson, whose union represents PHA support staff, clerical workers, laboratory and morgue employees, opposed the changes yesterday, saying he’s written to PHA officials warning of the legal breach. He also plans to advise workers to ignore the directive.

In the letter written to PHA officials, he cited Section 67 of the Employment Act, which states that no employer may require an employee, as a condition of employment or continued employment, to provide fingerprints or undergo a lie detector test.

The letter was also copied to Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle and other officials.

“The law is the law,” Mr Ferguson told The Tribune yesterday. “It’s very disappointing to know that this is a government that is having a disregard for the law.”

Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU) president Muriel Lightbourn also opposed the plan yesterday, raising not only legal concerns, but privacy fears as well.

She said she became aware of the proposal last year, but believed it wouldn’t be implemented after raising objections to its legality.

“I cannot agree something that’s going to ask us to go against the law,” she said, adding that the union sees no need for the switch.

She said officials already have cameras to verify who is clocking in, along with other measures.

She questioned where employees’ biometric information would be stored and whether the PHA had fully considered the privacy risks involved.

“You have to be concerned as to where this information is going and who’s going to be able to get this so it’s a lot of concerns and I don’t think this would be a direction that PHA would want to go into at this time,” Ms Lightbourn stressed.

Mr Ferguson, meanwhile, warned that fingerprints are highly sensitive personal data that could be misused, saying technology makes it easy for biometric information to be exploited.

“Your fingerprint is unique to you and if it shows up some place, there’s no excuse as to how it would’ve gotten there because nobody’s giving consideration that someone is going to misuse your fingerprint,” he added.

In its statement, the PHA acknowledged the importance of protecting staff data, assuring that fingerprint templates are stored as encoded information and linked only to employees’ HR IDs.

The authority added that the system improves accuracy, eliminates buddy punching and streamlines attendance tracking.

Still, both union leaders insisted their members will not be forced to provide fingerprints.

Mr Ferguson also warned that if the PHA intends to proceed, the union is confident the court would have no issue granting an injunction, adding that the authority could also expose itself to liability.

Dr Charelle Lockhart, president of the Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA), said that although the policy doesn’t apply to her members, she stands in solidarity with the other unions. She added that the CPSA would also reject the measure if it affected them.

PHA Managing Director Dr Aubynette Rolle declined to comment on the matter when contacted yesterday.