TUAC called for a shift in approach to AI transformation at this week’s Nordic-Baltic PIAAC Conference on adult skills in Jyväskylä, Finland, stressing that retraining will not be enough to address the economic disruption that likely lies ahead: governments also need to ensure there are quality jobs for those affected.
Policy discussions frequently treat AI as an inevitable force, TUAC warns, something that happens to jobs and to workers. As companies and shareholders reap the gains of unhindered technological progress, the policy response is too often reduced to upskilling and reskilling alone. Workers are expected to adapt to roles (re)shaped around what AI can do, with human labour seen as something to plug the gaps.
This approach lets governments and corporations off the hook, TUAC argues, and puts the burden of adapting entirely on the worker. We have been here before: over two decades ago, factory workers in the United States were promised that retraining would carry them through the economic disruption and into the jobs of the future. But for many workers these jobs failed to materialise, or, if they did, were lower paid, non-unionised, less secure, and required both relocation and a complete shift in professional identity. The lessons from the fallout are clear: governments need to create and protect good jobs, rather than retrofit the worker with no regard for their professional identity and working conditions.
The question, for trade unions, is not what AI can do – the starting point must be human agency, and how AI can complement workers’ capabilities. Case studies on AI adoption show two starkly different experiences. Workplaces where it’s going well are those where workers can use AI to assist them as and when they see fit, with their working pace and conditions unchanged. On the other side are workers who have seen AI strip out the creative, meaningful core of their jobs, leaving them to check the machine’s output for lower pay and under greater pressure.
Workers must be at the heart of conversations about the jobs and skills needs of the future, TUAC insists. The agreement that ended the Hollywood writers’ strike at the end of 2023 delivered clear rules on how studios could deploy AI, ensuring the technology served workers rather than the other way round.
Collective bargaining is also key in facilitating access to quality training for workers who either need or wish to develop new or foundational skills. Italy’s 2016 national metalworkers’ agreement entitles all permanent full- and part-time employees to at least 24 hours of training, while Sweden’s 2022 transition agreements guarantee workers financial support for reskilling whether currently employed or between jobs. The OECD itself has repeatedly stressed the importance of social dialogue, and particularly collective bargaining, in skills development and in delivering better outcomes for both workers and employers in periods of transition.
Trade unions agree that improving adult skills and learning opportunities is crucial in the green and digital transitions. However, it cannot be seen as enough to protect workers through the economic disruption; governments also need to proactively shape and create the jobs of the future, with human agency and workers’ interests as their starting point. History has shown that it’s not enough to build the bridge; we also need to think about the shore it’s going to.
