No robot levy on Shorten’s watch

Labor has distanced itself from a proposal for a training levy on business to help workers adjust to technological change.

NEWS2019ELECTION 16/4/2019. DAY 6 Opposition Leader Bill Shorten visiting the College of Medicine at Flinders University to talk about LaborÕs investment to keep blood test free, at Flinders University in Adelaide . Picture Kym Smith

Labor is backing away from a proposal for an economy-wide training levy on business to help workers adjust to technological change amid a backlash from business over the prospect of a new “robot tax”.

Unions have warned that automation looms as a “once-in-a-­lifetime disruptive economic event” for workers, who will need retraining to meet the needs of the “jobs of the future”.

The ALP platform, endorsed by members last December, said Labor would “consider the implementation of a temporary, economy-wide training levy for businesses with 100 or more employees”, with funds used to retrain workers in higher and vocational education.

The Australian Industry Group said its members recognised the importance of workplace training, but levying business to pay for it would be a “tax on jobs”.

“It would lead to reduced ­employment, reduced competitiveness and less job security for those who remain employed,” Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said.

He said redundancy pay was already included in national employment standards, and requiring workers to pay a training levy as well “would be expecting employers to pay twice”.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the levy would be unfair on employers that already invested heavily in training, and might have un­intended consequences.

“For those businesses it may even be counter-productive as they may lessen their training effort due to the cost of a levy,” ACCI’s James Pearson said.

A Labor spokeswoman said an economy-wide training levy would not be implemented by a Shorten government.

Australian Workers Union nat­ional secretary Daniel Walton said it should not be ruled out.

“It’s not something that needs to be mandated immediately and placed in, but it … should have consideration to it, given what different nations are doing around the world to deal with these changes,” Mr Walton said.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said employers needed to ensure workers also benefited from technological change in the workplace.

“We don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t structure an opportunity to get employers to collaborate with each other to produce a pool of funds to contribute to the training effort that was required,” the union’s national skills co-ordinator, Ian Curry, said.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has warned robot taxes would be required to protect the role of ­humans in the workforce and billionaire Richard Branson said a universal basic income would be needed to keep displaced workers from becoming homeless.

Labor’s digital economy spokesman Ed Husic has previously warned 3.5 million ­Australian jobs were likely to be ­affected by technological change, and that governments would need to consider dramatic measures like taxing AI bots if unemployment rose.

“We will (need to do it) if ­unemployment goes through the roof. We haven’t prepared for what’s coming but we have one of the most targeted welfare systems on the planet and we are actively trying to reconsider things like how we lift Newstart,” Mr Husic had said.