Fórsa national executive member Ursula Cox has told delegates attending the ICTU biennial delegate conference that unions must urgently assert their role in shaping how artificial intelligence is introduced in the workplace.
Supporting a motion on AI proposed by the Financial Services Union (FSU), Ms Cox said the rise of AI systems represents a significant challenge for workers, and warned that “we need to move, and we need to move fast.” The motion was tabled this morning (Thursday) on the final day of the conference, which is taking place in Belfast.
“Having feasted on our personal data, the AI is coming for our jobs,” she said, referencing figures that suggest 40% of jobs globally are due to be impacted by AI. She said that generative AI “is not likely to replace jobs… it is already replacing jobs: data entry, document processing and customer service, jobs which are often undertaken by women.”
Ms Cox called for a structured mechanism for union engagement with Government, agencies and employers, “not as an afterthought, but as a partner in shaping the world of work,” and said workers must have the opportunity to reskill and upskill in ways that support them in sustainable work, warning that those not supported “will be displaced by entire AI ecosystems that reshape industries.”
She urged collective engagement between unions, governments and employers to protect the humanity of the workplace and to prepare for a potential “productivity cliff” – where AI increases output while reducing the human workforce faster than replacement roles can be developed.
Highlighting the role of personal data in the development of AI, she said: “All that lovely personal data soaked up by the tech firms means we’ve all had a hand in the construction of these AI systems.
“We must ensure the future of work is built with workers, not without them. Let’s stand together to ensure AI serves the people but does not replace them.”
The motion recognises the risks AI poses to employment and calls for frameworks that involve trade unions in decision-making on AI adoption, investment in targeted training for workers, and worker-centred priorities in EU regulation.
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