Hyderabad: Voices raised by state government employees in Andhra Pradesh over the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy administration’s decision to introduce an app to track employees’ attendance and clock time location using facial recognition software, over the past few weeks growing with the municipality and sanitation workers to join the latest Oppose,
While the government has said that the objective of the software is to ensure transparency and efficiency of working by state departments and timely delivery of services and welfare schemes to the public, one of the concerns raised by the employees is that many of them does not have a smartphone, nor does he know how to use it. The threat to privacy is another issue weighing heavily on his mind.
“I have never used a smartphone, nor do I know how to operate it. Someone in the department told me that I had to learn to use the phone and then add something to my phone to give my presence. Now, I have to spend an additional amount for the phone which is very difficult with my monthly expenses,” said 40-year-old K. said Shyamala, a sanitation worker from Ongole.
Though his department is yet to introduce an app-based attendance system, he fears that the lack of smartphones and lack of technical know-how could create problems for him.
The Andhra Pradesh government had issued an order in December stating that all government employees, including contractual and outsourced employees, would use the facial recognition application to clock in their attendance and it would also be used for their leave management. ThePrint has a copy of the order.
Currently, government employees in Andhra Pradesh use an Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system to mark their attendance.
The government had introduced facial recognition based system in schools to track teachers’ attendance last year, but that too was met with backlash.
The latest order, covering all government departments and levels of employees, will be implemented in a phased manner.
Meanwhile, Srinivas Kodali, an independent researcher working on data and governance, said that if the government really wants to ensure efficient governance and welfare, it should be implemented at the top level, such as the chief minister.
“If we are talking about efficient governance, why should it not be used by the chief minister or his cabinet ministers? We want to know how much work they are doing and when they are coming,” Kodali said.
He said: “The Data Protection Bill (draft) does not give workers much rights (safeguards) when it comes to sharing data, but employers can collect data of employees on certain grounds.” According to the researcher, facial recognition is part of the bigger picture of real-time governance of the Andhra government, where data on individuals is being collected at every level.
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how it works
Acting on the orders of the government, an app named ‘APFRS’ has been developed under the purview of the ITE&C department of the state. As of last week, the app had crossed 1 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store.
Once the app is downloaded, an employee needs to enter his/her ID and then proceed for mobile-based verification through an OTP (One Time Password) which will also activate SMS (text) notifications. The employee’s facial features are then captured and the data is stored on the app. The app also feeds a geo-location based on an employee’s role, which means that attendance (via facial recognition) will be accepted only when the employee is in and around his office premises.
For example, if an employee works in the Secretariat and has to go to the High Court for any official purpose (as part of his job or field duty), he will be allowed to attend from the court premises as well. Locations are pre-determined based on role.
“The employee ID is maintained in our internal server (CMFS) system and is linked to the part where we keep track of salary payments and all. This is not just an attendance system but we want to develop it as an e-employee record. The personal profile on the app will also include salary details, cards of each employee, their GPF (Provident Fund Savings) and insurance details. We want it to become a completely mobile employee record system.
IT minister Gudivada Amarnath told ThePrint that facial recognition is one of the reasons the Andhra government insisted on attendance, as they “want to ensure transparent and timely delivery of all government welfare services launched for the public.”
Officials claimed that another reason for preferring facial recognition over biometric is the lapses and misuse of biometric systems. In September last year, a primary health center (PHC) doctor Suspended To use a fake thumb (artificial rubber thumb) to mark your attendance.
Amarnath also said that the government did not have the data of lower level employees and there were duplicate entries. Hence, facial recognition was brought in as a foolproof attendance system, he claimed.
threat to privacy
However, the employees have raised many concerns regarding the new rule. Apart from issues such as lack of smartphones, working in poor network areas and the app not being suitable for field jobs, one of their biggest concerns is the threat to privacy and personal data.
“Why should I expose my contacts, photos, banking app data or any other personal data I have in my mobile to a government run app? It doesn’t matter how secure it is, why should I risk exposing it, won’t it put us at risk of profiling?” asked Askar Rao, general secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Government Employees Union.
He said: “When a biometric system is already in place, why have they introduced a new system? Is there no accountability of any employee? Is this not a violation of our freedom and privacy? It seems the government is watching us.”
“The app is specifically about marking attendance from the office location. But what about the village level workers, ASHA workers, ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) and field workers who move around the villages? How will they collect attendance? Office timings are also set in the app, many employees of the village go to work early in the morning, then where do the extra hours go? Rao, who is an employee of the state health department, asked.
The government, last year, was also planning to use facial recognition technology to identify Teacher’s sloganeering Initiate necessary action against and against the pension scheme of the government.
Gaur, however, dismissed concerns about the app’s threat to privacy, saying the app does not have access to any data except the location of employees.,
“We understand their concerns, but we are not tracking them in real time. The location is required only to see if they are in the office at the relevant time. We also understand the concerns of field workers, so we Working on a solution to enable an option that says ‘On Tour’ for those on the field all the time.
Officials from the health, police and revenue departments have also expressed concern over the functioning of the app, pointing out that they do not have a fixed timeline.
“Any issue pointed out by any section of employees will be addressed after a thorough review. Intended, timely delivery of services, but not to harass any section of employees… Protecting personal privacy is always our top priority by our Government and accordingly, any action that violates the same will be immediately will be reviewed and appropriate technical protocols will be followed. is involved,” Amarnath told ThePrint.
The implementation of the app is still in its initial stages. Gaur said the health, panchayati raj and other departments have not yet implemented it and will do so eventually.
Gaur appreciated the steps taken by the government for effective implementation of the facial recognition app and pointed out that as part of its move to test the app in all areas, the government has already introduced it in some schools.
Meanwhile, elaborating on the concern about the threat to the privacy of employees, Kodali said: “Is facial recognition a form of surveillance, yes – it is and the app also asks for permission to access photos.” Some schools have started using facial recognition to take attendance, but will it help them in development in any way? No it doesn’t. This is an additional data collection exercise that the government can use later Is.”
Health department staff said that according to Askara Rao, there are more than 20 different apps for medical and health department staff alone (of different levels) to enter daily data – from ANM workers to the highest level.
“We are not completely against the idea of facial recognition. But, ask the government to give us the phone as we don’t want to download it on our phones. Before we agree to use it, the government should address all our concerns,” said Askara Rao.
(Edited by Geetalakshmi Ramanathan)
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