#constractions

Some union members say they’ll be tracked everywhere from the job site, to the can. Workers at Shell Albian Sands say they’re frustrated about a GPS device the company plans to issue to contractors during an April shutdown. But Shell Canada says the monitoring is about safety and productivity.

“Safety is also an important indicator for how well a business is performing operationally – improving safety not only saves lives, it can help drive to a more competitive business,” says Shell Spokesperson Cameron Yost in an email. “In this context, the decision to pilot a GPS tracking system for a maintenance project at Albian makes sense.”

Workers who contacted MyMcMurray argued it was a huge breach of privacy, but Shell says the tags will collect data from groups of contractors and data won’t be looked at individually unless there is an emergency.

“The only reasons we would get specific details on an individual is in the event of an incident investigation, to monitor fatigue status or when the panic button is activated.  All of which is in accordance with Canadian privacy laws,” states Yost.

The contractors say it’s being issued as Personal Protective Equipment which is an easy way for Shell to fire anyone who refuses to wear them.

Shell Albian Sands is the operation portion of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, which consists of the Muskeg River and Jackpine mines.

This post was originally published here: Shell Albian Sands testing GPS tags on contractors