VIENNA (LifeSiteNews) — A teacher in Austria has been fired from her job for refusing to use a digital ID.
Der Standard reports that Elisabeth T. was fired by the public school she taught at in Vienna one year before her retirement after the Vienna Board of Education introduced a mandate to use the digital “ID Austria” system in March.
All teachers are required to enter student data, grades, and travel expenses into the new digital system introduced in spring this year. Until March, it was still possible to log into the system using a username and password.
However, the Ministry of Education considered this method to be a safety risk and mandated multi-factor authentication using the ID Austria digital verification system. The system holds an individual’s personal data, including name, date of birth, citizenship, phone number, official residence, and log of activities from the past six months.
The move sparked a protest among teachers who did not want to use the digital ID.
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“Until now, it was enough for teachers to show up for work and teach with the resources available. Now, suddenly, you need a private ID,” said an open letter signed by T. and eight other teachers.
They argued that ID Austria is voluntary and that an employer cannot force its staff to use it.
“ID Austria is not the only option. Many banks also use their own two-factor authentication systems, so why can’t the Ministry of Education do the same?” the teachers wrote.
The Ministry of Education argued that T., whose career spanned 35 years, was dismissed because she refused to enter students’ grades into the new system, which violated her duty as a teacher.
The ministry claimed that ID Austria provides “maximum data security, data protection, and digital sovereignty.” It argued that the “vast majority of the population has far greater trust in official systems,” compared to private providers such as Microsoft or Google.
Elisabeth T. announced that she will take legal action against her dismissal, meaning that a labor court may soon decide if employers can force their staff to use the state-owned digital ID system.
