ACTU, Microsoft agreement eases fears AI will take jobs: AIIA
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More news: Tech industry group Australian Information Industry Association CEO Elizabeth Whitelock has praised the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and Microsoft’s worker rights agreement on AI as helping build the skills and trust to streamline AI adoption.
Whitelock told Capital Brief the deal “is going to hopefully strengthen the trust and underpin the industries with a position that it’s [AI] is here to support you, it’s not here to remove you”.
“I think this position with the ACTU and Microsoft, it is taking what has been maybe for many, a theoretical position [as a driver of productivity] and an opportunity into something that hopefully takes the workforce into a real driver on a growth trajectory,” Whitelock said.
The federal government’s National AI Plan set an expectation that unions play a central role in shaping the future of technology in Australia.
When asked if the deal between the ACTU and Microsoft could be a replicable model across other AI adopters and developers, Whitelock noted “there are multiple ways to build trust “.
“I think that in order for us to get to a place where we are deploying AI at scale to the country's benefit, it is not about one singular movement. It's not about one singular approach,” Whitelock said.
Australian unions and Microsoft sign workers rights agreement on AI
The news: Microsoft Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and framework agreement that sets a new benchmark for workers’ rights in the tech sector.
The context: The MOU, also signed by the Australian Services Union, Professionals Australia and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, provides Microsoft workers recognition of their rights to join and be represented by their union, and affirms the rights of workplace delegates.
This is the first time a major technology company operating in Australia has made these kinds of commitments.
The ACTU and Microsoft Australia have also agreed to jointly develop and deploy resources to support workers’ access to training and new skills development for working with AI systems and products.
These resources will be available through unions, with the aim of supporting workers to develop their skills to engage with AI systems implemented in their workplace and more effectively contribute to its design and implementation.
Microsoft has committed to include mechanisms to elevate workers’ voices in decision making, formal knowledge sharing, during the development and deployment of new and existing AI products.
The company has also pledged to “respect the rights of creative and media workers and the vital role they play in Australian society, culture and democracy”.
What they said: “Workers through their unions have consistently raised concerns that AI is being developed and deployed without their voices being heard,” said ACTU assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell.
“Microsoft Australia’s commitments to recognise the fundamental workplace rights of its workers and engage meaningfully with their unions is a first for global technology companies operating in Australia.
“... It’s time for other big tech and large employers to catch up and get on board with a similar collaborative approach to AI, with workers at the heart of planning and implementation, not simply left to grapple with ill-conceived and enforced changes.”
The source: ACTU media release
