San Francisco (AFP)

Google fired four employees on Monday accused of consulting internal documents they should not have accessed, angering some of their colleagues who see a measure of intimidation of the Internet giant ultimately aimed at preventing the staff to organize, even to organize.

The opposition foursome, quickly nicknamed by the social networks "Four Thanksgiving" - in reference to the traditional feast celebrated this week in the United States, had repeatedly pointed out for their critics of the company, taken to part of his behavior against sexual harassment and for his collaboration with digital surveillance in China.

This decision of the company is primarily intended "to hinder any attempt at organization among employees," said a group of Google employees in a message published on the Medium platform. They were the ones who had co-organized a work stoppage at the end of 2018, called "Google Walkout For Real Change", to denounce the management of sexual harassment within the company.

Google confirmed on Tuesday to AFP information Bloomberg that management had sent Monday an email to all employees explaining the dismissal of four people who "clearly and repeatedly violates our data security policies" .

"An in-depth investigation showed that these people deliberately conducted systematic searches on the documents and work of other employees," searches that were not part of their own duties, adds the company in the document.

Without specifying the identity of the employees concerned, Google confirmed the content of the email unveiled by Bloomberg. The group did not wish to comment further.

One of the people concerned, Rebecca Rivers, confirmed Monday on his Twitter account to have been removed from office. She notably criticized the fact that Google worked with the US agency in charge of immigration and borders, accused by some of non-respect of human rights.

According to the text of employees on Medium, the company started by engaging a company seeking to prevent unionization in companies.

- Coherence -

"At about the same time, Google has reshaped its policies to make the mere consultation of certain documents an offense that could justify a dismissal", is written in the message.

"This policy change was an excuse for retaliation against employees seeking to organize, giving (to Google) a pretext for choosing who to target," he added.

The Coalition of Technology Workers reacted on Twitter by assuring that the dismissal of the four employees was "intended to scare workers." "Do not let that happen," she adds.

She called on the other companies to hire the four employees who were fired.

Google, an affiliate of Alphabet, finds itself more and more often beset by its own employees on issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace or its participation in tenders for US agencies in the field. defense or immigration.

A year ago, Google employees demonstrated outside its Mountain View headquarters and offices to protest the company's treatment of sexual harassment.

Two of the four employees, who were already under suspension, participated in a protest rally at the company's San Francisco offices on Friday, according to US media reports.

For Jeffrey Hirsch, a law professor at the University of North Carolina and a former lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board, Google could face legal problems if it does not demonstrate a consistent approach to the law. other staff members who behaved in the same manner as the four employees dismissed.

"Otherwise, Google will probably have to reinstate the employees and pay them their salary," he told Bloomberg.

© 2019 AFP