GMB North West & Irish Region
8 April 2013

Caerphilly council investigates its use of a company to spy on workers.  Trade Union questions these 'big brother' tactics.

A council has ordered an investigation into its use of a surveillance company to spy on workers. It comes amid concerns about the legality of such operations and the relationship between the firm and the authority. Since it was revealed on WalesOnline last week that Caerphilly council has spent £110,000 over the last two years spying on employees suspected of wrongdoing, we have established that the chief executive of the company undertaking the surveillance work was until last year one of the authority’s managers.
 
Dayton Griffiths, who was appointed chief executive of Blackwood-based Conquest Surveillance Services in 2012, was previously head of the council’s insurance claims department – which itself was responsible for commissioning the surveillance work. Mr Griffiths has confirmed contracts had been awarded to Conquest without following a competitive tender process – a practice he defended.
 
He said that when he took up his role in 2000, the council was having to defend a great number of “spurious and potentially fraudulent” claims from members of the public. To reduce the number of such claims, it was decided to use surveillance against some claimants. The council used six separate companies in the early years of surveillance, said Mr Griffiths, who added: “We were very disappointed with many of the companies we used at that time as some of them came back stating that ‘due to the location it is too difficult to carry out surveillance without being compromised’. We were also concerned about the poor quality of the reports and video tapes/discs.” It was therefore decided to use Conquest on all difficult cases.
 
Several years later surveillance began of council employees suspected to be abusing sick leave. He said: “With this being known throughout the authority, no one has ever requested that we go to tender or quotation mainly I assume due to the fact that it is a very specialised area of work and that confidentiality is the key to success. We were also getting the results – 100% success in proving that staff investigated were acting fraudulently – the wrongful or criminal intention to deceive for personal or financial gain.” He estimated that more than £20m had been saved as a result, with the money going back into frontline services.
 
Mr Griffiths said that when he retired last May, a number of organisations asked him to work for them, including Conquest. He said: “The two directors of Conquest contacted me and we had a meeting on June 15, 2012. I was asked if I had made any decision and I stated that I would join them to assist in the expansion of the company both client wise and the additional services that I felt should be provided.
“I stated at that time and it is still the same today that I would only work one or two days per week and I would not accept any wage at all. In fact I did not want any remuneration as I only needed something to keep the grey matter ticking over, was flexible around my grandchildren and it was something that I enjoyed. “This is still the case today, but I am in fact only doing one day a week introducing them to new clients UK-wide in both the public and private sectors. I also do not have any financial involvement in the company at all and it not my intention to do so in the future.” Mr Griffiths said he had nothing to hide and would willingly cooperate with the council’s inquiry.
 
Meanwhile, two of the workers who were kept under surveillance are pursuing legal action against the authority, claiming it has failed in its duty of care towards them. Steven Davis, 41, and Jonathon Powell, 37, both of Blackwood, are being backed by the GMB Trade Union, which says it has been concerned about the council’s “spying” activities for at least three years. The two men worked as a gully and drain-cleaning crew in the Blackwood area. They say they were “shocked and appalled” to discover that they had been targeted for surveillance over five days in May and June 2011.
 
Mr Davis, a GMB union rep, said: “Finding out that they’d hired a firm to follow us came as an enormous blow after years of loyal service to the council. “They tried to throw around 11 charges at us, including fraud. Eventually they did us on three charges based on their interpretation of the surveillance, which we say was wrong.” “We were accused of things like going to get a cup of tea when we shouldn’t have, and I was accused of smoking in the cab. “Hiring a surveillance firm to follow us around for days was completely over the top, in my opinion. It’s made us feel like criminals and I’m now quite paranoid, thinking I’m being watched. “It’s very difficult to sleep at night and it’s had an enormous impact on my family life.”
 
The result of the men’s disciplinary hearings was that they both received final written warnings. They were also taken off their old jobs. Both are now on sick leave. Mr Powell said: “I’m an honest man, but have been left feeling sick with the way I have been treated.” Mike Payne, regional political officer for the GMB Trade Union, said: “We have been very concerned about the use of surveillance by Caerphilly for at least three years. “So far as we are concerned the council has a snooping team which spends its time checking up on employees to see if they can find a way to save money.”
 
Announcing an inquiry into the issue, Caerphilly council said: “Coun Hefin David, the chair of the council’s policy and resources scrutiny committee has requested an urgent report detailing the money spent to date, clarification around the procedures relating to the procurement of this type of covert surveillance and what the outcomes are in respect of evidencing value for money for the taxpayer.”