• TUs claim digital fingerprint sign-in/sign-out complicates their work, shift remuneration models
• Authorities claim TUs and employees resist due to inability to continue with OT scams to get more pay, costing taxpayers

In a significant push to modernise public sector workforce management and enhance transparency, the Government has rolled out biometric fingerprint attendance systems across numerous State institutions since August. 

This initiative, aimed at curbing absenteeism, facilitating accurate attendance monitoring, and embedding greater workforce discipline, has ignited intense opposition from various trade unions and Government employees, revealing deep tensions in the realm of technological reforms and workers’ rights. 

Biometric fingerprint scanners have been installed in many Government offices, including key divisional secretariats and the Central Mail Exchange, marking a new era in how public servants are tracked at work. 

Deputy Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Prabha Ruwan Senarath articulated the Government’s vision: “The use of fingerprint technology is a vital step towards creating a more disciplined and efficient public service.” 

The fingerprint system represents just one element of a broader reform agenda focused on accountability and enhanced performance across the public sector. 

Senarath explained: “We are discussing a monitoring mechanism that will go hand in hand with the fingerprint system. This will ensure that attendance is not just recorded but linked to real performance. Our aim is to build a system where accountability cannot be compromised.”

Union pushback and protests

Despite this Government resolve, resistance has been fierce. Postal workers, in particular, have emerged as vocal opponents. The Sri Lanka postal unions announced trade union action protesting the “forced implementation” of biometric systems, which they argued infringed on privacy and jeopardised existing overtime compensation frameworks. 

Responding to the union protests, Government officials remained steadfast. Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa declared that the biometric attendance system was “indispensable” for reform and would be gradually linked to performance monitoring tools. 

“The demands to remove fingerprint machines and change overtime rates are unacceptable and will not be entertained,” he stated firmly, while addressing the media recently. 

United Postal Trade Unions Front Co-Convener Chinthaka Bandara clarified the workers’ stance: “We are not against the biometric attendance system. The issue we have is that it cannot be implemented to include the calculation of extra allowances such as overtime. As long as this new system does not get in the way of us getting due wages for hours we work we have no problem.” 

Irregular shifts, overlapping duties 

Bandara highlighted operational challenges at the Central Mail Exchange, a facility with 3,000 employees working around the clock, where irregular shifts and overlapping duties complicate attendance recording.

“There are employees who not only do double shifts but also cover the work of other employees. For example, if an employee’s shift is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and he is required to do an additional shift thereafter, then he can clock out at the end of his first shift and clock in again at the commencement of his second shift at, say, 4.30 p.m. 

“However, what if, during his first shift, he has to cover the work of an employee who failed to attend their shift? That means he is doing two shifts between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and another shift in the evening, but how is he to mark attendance for the shift he covered for the absentee which overlaps? Such issues cannot be solved via the fingerprint system. This is why we have not included overtime payments as part of the fingerprint attendance system. It is being done manually,” he noted.

The Postmaster General has added a further layer to the controversy, alleging audit findings of Rs. 10 million in overtime scams. These claims met fierce denial from union leaders, who insisted that overtime payments were made only with management approval. 

“We will not accept such false claims by him. We have strongly objected to this and we will conduct trade union action in protest within the next few days. If there were overtime payments made in excess, then it was done with the approval of the Postmaster General or an officer that he had appointed. 

“Without their approval no employee of the Department of Posts can receive their overtime payments. So in that case it is he who should be answering to the findings of the audit that there had been fraudulent overtime payments. He cannot pass that responsibility on to the employees,” Bandara asserted.

Customs concerns

Other Government sectors have voiced their own practical concerns. A Customs official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, explained the difficulty of using biometric attendance in a role requiring continuous and irregular duties, such as prolonged container inspections or covert operations. 

“The impracticality is that with the duties of a Customs official, it is not possible to always clock in and clock out. For example, if a Customs official has opened a container and is inspecting it, they cannot just drop it and clock out at 5 p.m., leaving the container open. The containers are inspected in a separate yard, so we cannot just drop it and go to clock out at the fingerprint scanner so that we can clock in to get overtime. In such instances we will have to forgo our entitled extra allowance for that day. 

“Another example is if we get a tip about a container containing illegal substances, we will be on duty to catch this consignment even for two days at a stretch or more. As such, expecting Customs officials to clock in and out like ordinary employees is not practical, nor is it fair, as it hinders our duties,” the Customs official said. 

However, the fact remains that longstanding efforts to improve work efficiency, transparency, and accountability at Sri Lanka Customs and agencies like the Immigration and Emigration Department have long been resisted by trade unions which have not changed with the times. 

Fingerprinting alone inadequate

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) employees are also using the system but critics say it alone cannot curb inefficiencies or corruption. 

Joint Trade Union Alliance Convener Ananda Palitha pointed out loopholes where employees could register attendance without genuinely being present – for instance, swiping a fingerprint at the entrance and leaving, then returning later to clock out.

 “At the CPC compound, the fingerprint scanner is at the entrance to the main gate. An employee can arrive in the morning, touch the scanner, leave the work premises, and come back at around 8 p.m., keeping the fingerprint and claiming overtime. In fact, they don’t even have to enter their office fully when they arrive, all they have to do is register their fingerprint. 

“They can then turn around, leave, and come back again when their shift is finished to register the fingerprint once more to show that they have clocked out. But they have not been inside the office, let alone done any of their work that day. So the fingerprint system alone is inadequate,” Palitha charged. 

He called for complementary measures such as CCTV monitoring and electronic passes inside premises to ensure genuine attendance and productivity. 

“Alongside the introduction of fingerprinting, they must also introduce a proper CCTV system as well as individual electronic passes to enter and exit. The fingerprint scanner should be inside the premises. That way they must swipe their card to enter the office and then go on to register their fingerprint. 

“This way they cannot leave the office premises without management being aware, because if they swipe their card to leave it will notify the main systems that this individual has left. This is already in operation in the private sector and has become a common procedure now to ensure employee efficiency and attendance.” 

A further issue raised was the exemption of higher management from the fingerprint attendance system in some institutions such as the CPC and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), which unions see as unfair and undermining reform efforts. 

“Another issue is that at the CEB and the CPC, the higher-ups in management are not required to come under the biometric attendance system. They are exempt. This is not only unfair but sets a bad precedent. They should be leading by example, instead they are being given special treatment.” 

Palitha also brought up the impracticality of implementing this system, particularly at the CEB due to mobile or in-field employees. 

“The CEB employees working within the institute premises will be able to follow the biometric attendance system but those who work in the field are not going to be able to clock in and out via fingerprint scanners. An alternative would be needed in this instance.”

Reform and accountability

Advocata Institute CEO Dhananath Fernando emphasised the fundamental need for biometric attendance. “It provides legal clarity and improves productivity. It reflects basic work ethics and etiquette.” 

Fernando noted that without attendance records, Government institutions became vulnerable to abuses such as ghost employees and fraudulent overtime claims, problems documented not only in Sri Lanka but internationally. 

“The broader question is how we can improve the efficiency and productivity of these institutions. One fundamental aspect is the fingerprint system. There is a lot to be done, but without knowing whether you actually came to work or not, it becomes very difficult. 

“There are many cases of ghost employees, not only in Sri Lanka but also in countries like Argentina and Chile, where Government entities without biometric check in and out systems have faced a lot of corruption. Many ghost employees were drawing salaries or claiming overtime from public institutions.” 

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Director of Research Nisha Arunatilake also hailed the introduction of biometric systems as a positive step forward to improve accuracy and efficiency in the public sector. 

“This is for the institutions to monitor attendance. It is basically a part of automation. Automation ensures accuracy and efficiency as opposed to marking attendance manually, which is susceptible to human error. 

“This system will record arrival and departure as well as attendance if proper biometric attendance mechanisms are installed. It will ensure monitoring attendance, leave/off days, and overtime in an accurate way. So in this regard, it’s a positive step forward and definitely a crucial development for our public sector.” 

Deputy Minister Senarath acknowledged the resistance but insisted that the reforms were aligned with the country’s aspirations for better governance. 

“It is not unusual for there to be objections to this kind of change. The public sector in particular is set in its ways, especially in terms of work hours. People voted for us to bring in these changes. There are those in the public sector who voted for us as well. Now is a time for change for the better. 

“These disgruntled public sector employees will realise that this change is coming whether they like it or not and that it will only benefit this country and themselves, and will come to terms with these reforms. This is what the people demanded, a proper system change. Some changes will take some time getting used to.”