The Department of Education breached data protection law when it used payroll data to withhold pay from teachers during industrial action last year, it emerged today.
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According to the Annual Report by the Data Protection Commissioner, which was published today, the Department’s use of the teachers’ payroll database to identify individuals who were members of the trade union involved was against data protection law.
The report said individuals should be made aware of the purposes for which their personal data will be used when they are being asked for it. This data may not then be used for different purposes, without first obtaining the authorisation of the data subjects.
"I accordingly decided that the Department had breached data protection law by using the complainants’ trade union membership as it had," Data Protection Commissioner Mr Joe Meade said in the report.
The number of inquiries at the Data Protection Office rose from 2,200 in 1999 to over 3,100 in 2000, an increase of over 40 per cent. Many of these requests concerned credit ratings, direct marketing and access requests.
The number of formal complaints also increased in 2000 by 25 per cent to 131. Most complaints involved organisations in the telecommunications and IT sectors, financial institutions, direct marketing companies and public services.
The commissioner said: "If individuals have not given their unambiguous consent to receive unwanted phone calls or spam e-mail, then direct marketers will have problems under data protection law," said the commissioner.
"It is therefore advisable for the different Government agencies to come together on this topic, and adopt a common, coherent approach, which respects the fundamental right to privacy".
"Respect for the fundamental human right to privacy and data protection is the key enabler of e-commerce and e-government," Mr Meade said.
"These initiatives simply have to be built upon public credibility and assurance about the right to privacy. This assurance is exactly what data protection law provides".