Is this the eerie future of work in Australia? Major company’s plan to record the conversations of its employees is met with bitter backlash: ‘Big Brother-esque surveillance’

By NICHOLAS WILSON, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 11:21 EDT, 25 August 2025 | Updated: 11:23 EDT, 25 August 2025

Swissport has been accused of attempting to introduce ‘Big Brother-esque’ surveillance over its plans to record the conversations of its airport ground workers. 

The aviation services firm told staff this month it wants to attach cameras to all its vehicles at Sydney and Melbourne airports.

It claimed the cameras – which would continuously record video and audio of people in and around the vehicles – would assist in detecting misconduct and investigating workplace health and safety incidents. 

The rollout was originally planned to begin in June but was delayed following union uproar, the Australian Financial Review reported. 

Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the surveillance was ‘another appalling example of the disdain with which Swissport treats its workforce’. 

‘Eliminating any sense of privacy is not to improve safety – it’s to stop workers speaking out,’ he told the newspaper. 

‘When safety concerns are already not taken seriously by Swissport management, this new dystopian technique will only increase distrust of management and with it the risk of serious incidents occurring.’

In a letter, the firm’s management reportedly said workers did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy if they were informed about the surveillance.

Swissport plans to attach cameras to all vehicles at Sydney and Melbourne airports (stock)

The firm has been accused of introducing ‘Big Brother-esque’ surveillance of its staff (stock)

‘Should an employee seek to have a private conversation with another employee then the parties to that conversation can use any one of a number of areas that are not subject to audio recording to hold that conversation,’ the letter said. 

They added the move did not breach Victorian surveillance laws as there was no ‘reasonable basis for any employee to consider that their conversations on or near ground support equipment would be private.’

A Swissport spokesperson told the newspaper the technology would enhance safety, which they claimed was the firm’s top priority.

‘The technology we use is for the purpose of enhancing operational and safety outcomes, including to assist where additional safety or training support is required,’ he said.

‘This technology is installed on work equipment and vehicles to avoid locations where our people may have private conversations.’

The union has argued camera footage alone should go far enough in substantiating misconduct or safety risks, without the need for audio surveillance. 

In response, Swissport said video footage alone was ‘insufficient’ in meeting its aims including detecting and investigating serious misconduct. 

It also refused to outline how it would use the surveillance to mitigate health and safety risks when asked by the union. 

The planned rollout was delayed following union uproar (stock) 

It is not the first time the Swiss firm has found itself in the TWU’s crosshairs, including over worker safety concerns following a union-led survey published earlier this year. 

Of the 300 Swissport workers involved in the survey – about ten per cent of the firm’s workforce – 39 per cent said they had been injured while on the job. 

Another 73 per cent claimed they had been ‘pressured’ to carry out unsafe work while half said their safety concerns were left unresolved. 

Mr Kaine described the findings as ‘an appalling indictment on the state of the industry’, adding: ‘This must end’. 

In a statement at the time, the firm said the safety of its employees was its ‘utmost priority’, adding it adheres to strict safety regulations.

‘We provide extensive and ongoing training to ensure we are equipping employees with the knowledge, skills, processes and environment to work safely,’ it said. 

‘Swissport has an effective safety reporting culture and actively encourages the reporting of safety incidents. 

‘Where incidents occur, we empower our people to report them and invest in reviewing and incorporating lessons that can be taken into future work practices.

‘We take concerns around safety very seriously, and we’re committed to continually investing in, and working closely with employees and the airlines, to ensure these standards are upheld.’

Daily Mail contacted Swissport for comment.  

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Is this the eerie future of work in Australia? Major company’s plan to record the conversations of its employees is met with bitter backlash: ‘Big Brother-esque surveillance’