MANAGED BY DATA: LEGAL AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES OF WORKPLACE SURVEILLANCE IN INDIA.

This article investigates the existing state of workplace surveillance systems and their influence-overall from a legal and also as a human rights concern in terms of labour management/relations across India. At the lowest level of surveillance, these organisations used sensors e.g., cameras, GPS systems, wearables, EMAs, biometrics & RFID to collect massive amounts of information about each worker's life and turn him or her into a continuous source of data. This data is aggregated at the processing level according to a company's needs (e.g., based upon the reliability/productivity risk level) into a composite score that informs how an employer will either reward or penalise a worker for being reliable, productive or risky. Ultimately, these companies take that score and apply it through the automated level to govern employees based on algorithmic distribution, Algorithmic scheduling and/or nudges, penalties and ultimately 'deactivation' from all levels of decision-making. This article draws upon current examples from warehousing's TOT metrics, platform telematics, and Call Centre analytics to demonstrate there are three major 'harms' as a result of datafication and automated decision-making: epistemic, allocative and dignitary damage. It argues that the DPDP framework in India, as well as the constitutional principles created by Puttaswamy, means that these harms must be 'specifically safeguarded' for workplaces through required impact assessment prior to implementation for high-risk systems; General restrictions on the processing of biometric and health data and Guaranteeing that a human reviews and has the right to appeal any decision that impacts their livelihood and that Workers participate in decision-making processes regarding their work environment. The Article concludes with actionable policy recommendations that aim to integrate data protection with labour law, thus Upheaving dignity in the Age of ...