Police Spying on Unions a Waste of Resources
The police are abusing their powers by spying on legitimate union activities says the National Distribution Union.
NDU National Secretary Laila Harre says a file from the police provided to the union after an Official Information Act
request shows the police are keeping details of day-to-day union business on their criminal investigation database.
“Notices of pickets and campaigns against things like youth rates are being gathered and stored by the police at a time
when communities are crying out for more local police resources,” she says.
“Maintaining these files treats union activity and unions as a constant criminal threat.”
Ms Harre says none of the information the police are holding is secret.
“Much of what they have filed is notices of meetings and newsletters consisting of a roundup of events. All this stuff
was widely disseminated – we wanted people to know about it.”
Ms Harre says the file also shows the police are monitoring international workers solidarity groups and a range of other
activist organisations.
ENDS