Finger-print check-in sparked port strike

IT WAS a new fingerprint reader check-in system that raised the hackles of Durban port workers, and brought Pier 1 – the second container terminal at the docks – to a grinding halt two weeks ago. And it took court action to get the workforce back to work. According to Transnet sources, there was no objection to the fingerprint reader per se, but rather because the port workers had never before had a clock-in system at all – and rather too much freedom in adjusting their work hours to suit themselves. FTW was also told that there had been similar issues at the Durban container terminal (DCT) – but these had been cleared up before any worker action was taken. It’s odd that the fingerprint reader clock-in system caused a wildcat strike at Pier 1, according to a regular port user. “The trade union federation, Cosatu, appears to have accepted this type of system as a reasonable business practice,” he told FTW. “And a lot of other businesses have introduced this foolproof ID check as their clock-in procedure without any workers’ hassles whatsoever.” But he did come up with another socio-psychological phenomenon which might have added urgency to the Pier 1 workers’ reaction to the fingerprint reader clock-in. “Many workers immediately associate fingerprints with criminal activities and criminal records,” he said, “and this perception might very well lead to a flash-point amongst the workers.”