WA’s Public Transport Authority has accepted the recommendations of the Corruption and Crime Commission after an employee allegedly leaked the personal details of 1,750 staff to the Rail Tram and Bus Union.
A man who worked as a senior catenary maintainer for PTA between May 2012 and December 2017 is accused in a new CCC report of intentionally transferring files containing the annual leave details, rates of pay and dates of birth of fellow staff.
According to the CCC report the man allegedly gave this information to the RTBU during negotiations towards an industrial agreement for the Network and Infrastructure Division, which would include catenary maintainers.
The CCC report classifies the incident as “serious misconduct”.
“The information provided to the RTBU was subsequently used by the union organiser at a negotiation meeting between RTBU and PTA,” the Commission said in a short statement.
“The information was used as leverage by the union organiser to highlight the differences between the ways annual leave was being dealt with amongst PTA employees.”
The Commission has recommended the PTA tightens access controls over confidential information, and that it reinforces the seriousness of accessing confidential information to all of its staff.
“Public sector agencies collect, hold and disseminate a range of confidential and sensitive information which should only be used for legitimate purposes,” the Commission said.
“[This case] serves as a reminder to all public sector agencies of the importance of IT security measures, particularly when it comes to accessing confidential information; and to the public officers accessing this information the need to ensure it is managed appropriately.
In a short response to the Commission’s report, the PTA said it reported the matter to the CCC in 2017.
The PTA has also carried out its own investigation, and says its findings and recommendations “mirror” those of the Commission’s report.
“Dealing with confidential information is a normal part of the operations of virtually all businesses, and it is the responsibility of all employees to respect that confidentiality. This is even more so for government employees, who are bound by the Public Sector Act,” the PTA said.
“The PTA is already implementing a series of enhancements to security protocols, and will continue to look at ways we can educate staff about their obligations under our code of conduct.”