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.”