Vehicle tracking in practice


Vehicle tracking software raises particular issues about privacy and intrusion because of its potential to place workers under the constant pressure of being spied on, with the technology often being described as the “spy in the cab”. An example of invasive monitoring given in a previous LRD survey was a worker, working close to his home, who went home to use the toilet, and was then immediately called by his employer to explain himself. 


Again, the use of such technology appears to be the norm in the delivery, maintenance and servicing sectors where vehicles are used. For example, it is common in the refuse sector. A GMB national official told LRD that “you would struggle to find a bins contract” where they didn’t use vehicle tracking technology. The GMB has negotiated a number of agreements in the refuse sector governing the use of the technology.


According to a Unite regional officer, the use of vehicle trackers is a growing concern for members in local authority contracting — covering refuse and other services — and there has been a “tenfold increase in disciplinary cases” resulting from their use.


The Unite union has also negotiated a number of agreements with regard to the use of vehicle trackers. 


A senior Unite official told LRD that vehicle trackers should “only be installed by agreement and the purpose of all data collected clearly outlined to employees” and data collected should “not be routinely used to gather evidence for disciplinary purposes”. 


The technology is also common in the passenger transport sector, used by bus and taxi companies, for example. Vehicle tracking is useful for passengers, enabling live updates on arrival times to be provided at bus-stops and also for smart phone apps. However, it is also used as a workforce management tool. A Unite rep told LRD it is used to monitor infringements including “early running” on bus routes, and the union has “had to intervene on a number of occasions to make sure that agreements are being adhered to and members are being treated properly”. 


All modern ambulances are also fitted with tracking devices. A UNISON national official told LRD that “the speed at which they (ambulance staff) respond to all parts of the call cycle are measured and used in performance management”. This was in addition to other forms of surveillance, with staff in ambulance control rooms “recorded and performance managed in almost every aspect”. This sometimes leads to “disciplinary and other sanctions” and, alongside other pressures, was contributing to recruitment and retention problems in the service. 


Vehicle trackers have also been installed in company cars, although the approach taken by employers is not always consistent. An official from the UCATT construction workers’ union referred to an organisation where employees have been suspended from driving after vehicle trackers indicated that they were driving at around five miles an hour over the speed limit. In a meeting with the employer to discuss the issue, the official pointed out that he had been overtaken in his car on the way to the meeting by one of the managers present in the meeting — who was clearly driving in excess of the speed limit in a company car — and called for the same standards and systems to be employed across the organisation. The company refused to address this point.