‘Robot tax’ to help retrain displaced workers

Federal Labor is set to back a new body that would investigate a ‘robot tax’ on employers.

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton says workers should not be punished by technological ­advancement and should have a pathway to just transition.

Federal Labor is set to back a new body that would investigate proposals, including a “robot tax” on employers, aimed at ensuring workers displaced by automation are redeployed into jobs on similar pay and conditions.

ALP and union sources said agreement had been reached on a tripartite forum of employers, ­unions and Labor government representatives to “aid government policy thinking” on automation and the future of work.

The agreed platform change, expected to be endorsed by the ALP conference on Sunday, says the forum would “assess best-practice global models of productivity, taxation, training schemes and other measures to ensure displaced workers and young Australians are redeployed into jobs with similar pay and conditions and that those schemes are appropriately funded”.

An accompanying conference resolution put up by the Australian Workers’ Union, which sources said had broad support, says Labor should consider different employer levy models to fund the ­retraining of workers.

The most radical option it says should be considered is a temporary, economy-wide “training levy” for businesses with 100 or more employees, with the funds to be used to help retrain workers in higher and vocational education.

The resolution says Labor should also consider creating a “redundancy and retraining guarantee fund” for medium to large businesses.

Under this proposal, a “small percentage of employee costs” would be payable into a fund that would be used to retrain workers directly impacted by automation or redundancy. The funds would be in addition to redundancy and entitlement payments.

A third option would be a “retrenchment, retraining and redeployment levy” for medium and large businesses. This would apply where businesses retrench workers and remain in operation, and would help fund retraining.

Sources said the various options could be examined by the forum, with any recommendations to be then considered by a Labor government in consultation with employers, unions and other stakeholders

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said automation loomed as a “once in a lifetime disruptive economic event” but it had been completely ignored by the Coalition.

“The problem is complex, but we should approach it as we have the economic challenges of the past — through tripartite co-­operation,’’ Mr Walton said.

“We need to convene the leading experts and start working out long-term approaches. The challenge is already upon us and if we aren’t careful, the problem could overwhelm our traditional tools of managing these issues.”

He said workers should not be punished by technological ­advancement and should have a pathway to just transition.

“Those that lose their jobs must be retooled and redeployed in modern, well-paying jobs and we need to make sure we have the ­revenue to pay for this massive structural challenge,’’ he said.

The proposed AWU resolution says projections of an exponential rate of digitalisation and automation call into question the cap­acity of the economy, society and government services to deal with a sudden surge in unemployment.

“A sudden up-ending of the lab­our market threatens to severely increase inequality and undermine social cohesion,’’ it says.