Spy row over sacked sleeping workers

Steel-making giant Tata has been accused of "MI5-style surveillance" after sacking 13 workers it caught sleeping at work. The men were captured on secret cameras sleeping through parts of their shift in mess room areas on the Port Talbot site. The Community union has criticised the use of secret cameras, saying the firm has employed "Big Brother tactics".

Last winter, a series of tiny cameras were installed in light fittings, smoke alarms and other fixtures. In December, 17 riggers involved were shown the evidence and 13 were dismissed. Community's national officer Roy Rickhuss said the union was "extremely disappointed at the turn of events. Whoever made this decision - and they told us the decision was made in London ... to go down the route of covert cameras just did not understand, had no idea or concept of the industrial relations that had been built up over a number of years in that plant," he said.



The issue was first brought to Tata's attention by a whistleblower. Tata Steel spokesman Robert Dangerfield said the whistleblower's allegation of a "systemic malpractice - sleeping on the job - in one part of the plant had to be investigated and its veracity checked. This is the real world of a potentially hazardous workplace with workers scattered over a plant covering 12 square miles - not a science fiction fantasy like Big Brother," he said.

"No employer could ignore allegations of such malpractice." Mr Dangerfield added that the surveillance was the only practical way to gather objective evidence to establish the scope of the problem. "This was not carried out with any sort of relish - everyone at Port Talbot was bitterly disappointed to uncover the malpractice after we had all worked so hard to successfully change everyone's work culture and attitude."