Abstract
From the 1990s European Unions are increasingly confronted with ignored employees’ privacy or misused employees’ personal data. There has been a vivid European discourse about this issue in the early 2000s. The European GDPR brings the topic back to the European agenda. The article points out who is involved in employee data protection from side of the employees’ interest organizations. The contribution further describes which are the employees’ interests stressing some crucial points of the GDPR such as the data protection officer at company site and the article on data protection in employment relations. The author tries to figure out how the GDPR matches the employees interests – or otherwise. Therefore she compares the European Commission’s approach with that of the LIBE-committee to see which one would serve more the employees’ fundamental right to privacy.
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Notes
- 1.
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- 2.
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- 3.
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- 4.
Harding Sandra, “Standpoint methodologies and epistemologies: a logic of scientific inquiry for people”, in UNESCO and International Social Science Council (2010).
- 5.
Knorr-Cetina Karin, Manufacture of Knowledge (Oxford 1981).
- 6.
European Commission, The European e-Business Report, A portrait of e-business in 10 sectors of the EU economy, 5th Synthesis Report of the e-Business W@tch (Brussels, 2006).
- 7.
European Commission, Special Eurobarometer Data Protection (Brussels, 2003).
- 8.
European Commission, Flash Eurobarometer Data Protection in the European Union Citizens’ perceptions (Brussels, 2008).
- 9.
Lilian Mitrou and Maria Karyda, Employees’ privacy vs. employers’ security, Can they be balanced? (Elsevire Ltd. 2005).
- 10.
Catherine Delbar et al., “New technology and respect for privacy at the workplace,” European Industrial Relations Observatory (2003).
- 11.
Article 29 – Data Protection Working Party, Working document on the surveillance of electronic communications in the workplace (Brussels, 2002).
- 12.
Catherine Delbar et al., “New technology and respect for privacy at the workplace”, European Industrial Relations Observatory (2003).
- 13.
Anne O’Rourke, Julian Teicher and Amanda Pyman, “Internet and Email Monitoring in the Workplace: Time for an Alternate Approach”, Journal of Industrial Relations (2011 vol. 53).
- 14.
Catherine Delbar et al., “New technology and respect for privacy at the workplace”, European Industrial Relations Observatory (2003).
- 15.
Hendrickx Frank, Protection of workers’ personal data in the European Union (Leuven/Tilburg, 2002).
- 16.
Catherine Delbar et al., “New technology and respect for privacy at the workplace,” European Industrial Relations Observatory (2003).
- 17.
Riesenecker-Caba, Thomas and Alfons Bauernfeind, Verwendung personenbezogener Daten und Grenzen betrieblicher Mitbestimmung: Datenschutz in der Arbeitswelt (Arbeiterkammer Wien, 2011), 73–78.
- 18.
Fritsch, Clara, “Vogelstraußpolitik, der Tenor von Umfragen zum innerbetrieblichen Datenschutz in Österreich,” Arbeit und Wirtschaft (2008): 17.
- 19.
European Commission, Second stage consultation of social partners on the protection of workers’ personal data (Brussels, 2002).
- 20.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Opinion for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on the proposal for General Data Protection Regulation (Brussels, 2013).
- 21.
European Commission, Summary to the Replies to the Public Consultation About the Future Legal Framework for Protecting Personal Data (Brussels, 2010).
- 22.
European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC response to the Communication from the Commission ‘A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union’ (Brussels, 2011) and Uni global union, Submission to the European Commission communication A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union (Brussels, 2011).
- 23.
Article 29 Working Party, Opinion on the Processing of Personal Data in the employment (Brussels, 2014).
- 24.
International Labour Organization, Protection of Workers’ Personal Data (Geneva, 1997).
- 25.
Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund, Stellungnahme zum Gesamtkonzept für den Datenschutz der Europäischen Union (Wien, 2011).
- 26.
Uni global union, Data protection and employment in the European Union (Madrid, 2010): 2.
- 27.
Uni global union, online rights at work (Nyon, 2000).
- 28.
European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC position in the General Data Protection Regulation – improving the protection of workers’ data (Brussels, 2012).
- 29.
European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC response to the Communication from the Commission ‘A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union (Brussels, 2011).
- 30.
European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation (Brussels, 2012).
- 31.
European Economic and Social Committee, Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the General Data Protection Regulation (Brussels, 2012).
- 32.
European Economic and Social Committee, Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the General Data Protection Regulation (Brussels, 2012).
- 33.
Council of the European Union, Interinstitutional File 2012/0011 (Brussels, 2012).
- 34.
- 35.
Clara Fritsch. “Vogelstraußpolitik, der Tenor von Umfragen zum innerbetrieblichen Datenschutz in Österreich.” Arbeit und Wirtschaft (2008).
- 36.
Jan Albrecht, Inofficial Consolidated Version after LIBE Committee Vote Provided by the Rapporteur (Brussels 2013).
- 37.
Hans Zeger, “Datenschutz International, Unterschiede, Gleichwertigkeit, Vereinbarkeit” (Vienna, 2007).
- 38.
Catherine Delbar et al., “New technology and respect for privacy at the workplace,” European Industrial Relations Observatory (2003).
- 39.
Peter Schaar, “Die geplante EU-Datenschutz-Grundverordnung, Auch beim Beschäftigtendatenschutz ist ein Nachbessern erforderlich”, Computer und Arbeit (2013/3).
- 40.
For example the experiences of the NGO “Europe versus Facebook” (http://www.europe-v-facebook.org/DE/de.html).
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Fritsch, C. (2015). Data Processing in Employment Relations; Impacts of the European General Data Protection Regulation Focusing on the Data Protection Officer at the Worksite. In: Gutwirth, S., Leenes, R., de Hert, P. (eds) Reforming European Data Protection Law. Law, Governance and Technology Series(), vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9385-8_6
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