The Australian Council of Trade Unions will demand that employers guarantee workers’ job security before introducing artificial intelligence into their businesses in a bold proposal that will inflame tensions before the Albanese government’s productivity roundtable next month.
The council’s assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell will use a speech on Tuesday to send a message that the union movement expects Labor to push through legislation to bar the use of AI at businesses that cannot reach agreements with their employees.
ACTU assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell.Credit: Ben Searcy
“It is necessary to have a comprehensive AI act to ensure that such bad-faith uses of this technology are protected against,” Mitchell will say in a speech to the Melbourne University Productivity Flash Forum, according to draft speech notes seen by this masthead. “Workers will be all in if they know doing so will not cost them their jobs.”
Business groups have argued that artificial intelligence presents a multibillion-dollar opportunity for Australia to improve its productivity, arguing it will allow workers to be redeployed to higher-skilled jobs and calling for any safeguards not to impede the uptake of the technology.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will host the roundtable from August 19 to 21 to address Australia’s flatlining productivity, hoping it will generate ideas for economic reform.
A similar summit hosted by the Albanese government at the start of its first term contributed to the legislation of key union priorities such as letting labour organisations bargain across multiple employers, upsetting business groups.
Mitchell will argue that the biggest productivity gains come from businesses that use AI in a consultative way and respect workers’ skills.
“Employers should be required to reach AI-implementation agreements with their staff before new technologies are introduced into workplaces,” Mitchell will say, saying agreements should include requirements on job security, privacy and retraining.
In an interview with this masthead, Mitchell did not specify how strong the job security guarantees would have to be, what would happen to employers who do not reach agreements with staff, or how nationwide AI laws would work.
“We don’t think there is a case for AI to be adopted to cause mass redundancies,” he said.
“Employers need to come to their staff and come to their workplaces with a plan on how AI is going to be used to grow the business, but have transparency over the use and job security in place.”
“Regardless of the way it’s done, a national AI authority is important, we want to see a whole-of-government approach in the adoption of AI because there will be issues if you don’t get a coherent whole-of-government approach,” he said.
The federal government announced last year it would legislate to deal with the use of AI in high-risk settings, but has not yet brought the laws to parliament.
The ACTU’s announcement to push for further protections against AI comes after Commonwealth Bank announced 90 jobs would be cut to be replaced by AI systems and cheaper offshore labour.
The Finance Sector Union said that of the 90 jobs cut, 45 were cut due to the introduction of a chatbot system on the bank’s inbound customer enquiries line in June.
“Our members want to be trained and supported into better jobs that leverage AI. Yet rather than invest in its people the CBA are simply discarding Australians through ongoing redundancies and offshoring,” FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.
“If this is what [chief executive of CBA] Matt Comyn calls productivity, we’re seriously concerned about his place at the national productivity roundtable.”
A spokesperson from CBA said that while the 45 roles would be replaced by AI, it would open opportunities for new positions. “By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries that need empathy and experience,” a spokesperson said.
“Our priority is to explore opportunities for redeployment and to support affected employees with care, dignity and respect throughout the process. This includes access to redeployment options, career transition services and wellbeing resources.”
Employment law expert from the University of Melbourne Alysia Blackham said employers taking up AI early risked ineffective outcomes as the technology is not yet mature.
“We have a risk of it creating bias or discrimination, which can lead to really poor outcomes,” she said.
“Employers are not able to replace their workers with these tools in any realistic sense but bringing employees along on this technology journey is going to be really critical in building trust in these tools.”
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.