TECHNOLOGY has in many ways made our lives easier and more enjoyable, but there are significant concerns over how it is introduced and used in the workplace. 

The expansion of new technology and automation is an important and urgent issue for the trade union movement. 

It is estimated that nine in 10 UK employees will need to retrain by 2030, resulting in massive changes that are likely to affect how we do our jobs, what we do and how we are managed. 

Usdaw surveyed over 3,000 members and found that too many employers are introducing new ways of working without consulting their workforce. 

As well as negatively affecting our members, this is also resulting in employers all too often wasting money on technology that does not work properly. 

Many employers are not offering the training required to ensure that workers can use technology as it is introduced.

Technology introduced purely to make businesses more efficient is likely to have a significant and negative impact on workers. 

Women, black and minority ethnic workers, disabled people and young workers are at particular risk because they are over-represented in low-paid insecure work in sectors more at risk of automation. 

The retail sector has seen a huge shift towards online food shopping, particularly during the pandemic, and expansion of self-service checkouts, with women predominantly occupying key roles at the highest risk.

For new technology to transform work for everyone, it must be accessible and flexible. Workers need to be protected against all forms of discrimination, including that caused by technology, and employers need to embed fair treatment. 

Usdaw is calling for this to be underpinned by a new legal requirement for employers to conduct and publish equality impact assessments.

A key priority must be to ensure everyone can access the skills and qualifications required to adapt to the changing world of work. 

Regrettably, the government has already removed funding for the majority of practical qualifications and scrapped the Union Learning Fund in England.

Currently it is too easy and too cheap for employers to make redundancies. Improving redundancy rights will help protect workers and encourage employers to look for alternatives. 

Usdaw is calling for a minimum 90-day statutory consultation where more than 100 individuals are at risk and closure of the loophole allowing employers not to consult in workplaces where less than 20 are being made redundant. 

There must be a significant increase in statutory redundancy pay, to three weeks’ pay for each year of service, irrespective of age. 

Trade unions are crucial in minimising the impact of automation on workers and a strong union presence is essential to protecting jobs. 

The challenges and the opportunities of technology require good, effective relationships between unions and employers, which means better consultation and effective agreements on technology and change. 

Usdaw’s priority is to ensure that members are best placed to benefit from future changes in the workplace. 

Businesses should utilise trade union experience through recognition, consultation and collective bargaining rights. There is clear evidence that consultation, employee engagement, decent pay and conditions all contribute towards an effective and productive workplace and this is likely to be of increasing importance as more technology is rolled out.

The government has continually failed to protect workers’ interests. In 2019, it promised to urgently introduce an Employment Bill to “protect and enhance workers’ rights.” 

However, this has now been delayed for over two years. Our campaigning work with the Labour Party has helped to secure commitments on a wide range of issues which would significantly improve job security for our members. 

This includes delivering a “New Deal for Workers,” tackling insecure employment and increasing redundancy pay, so that redundancies are no longer seen as the “cheap and easy” option.

The role of reps in workplaces will be crucial in mitigating the negative impacts of technological advances through recruitment and organising, effective collective consultation processes and by shaping the training and skills agenda to ensure it meets the needs of employees. 

Only by striving for organised workplaces can we utilise our collective strength at a local level to protect the jobs and rights of our members.

Paddy Lillis is general secretary of Usdaw.