UPP Senator Ashworth Azille has warned that artificial intelligence and automation could eliminate a range of clerical, customer-service, banking, hotel and government jobs unless workers are urgently trained for the changing labour market.
Azille sounded the warning during the opening of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union’s 59th Annual Delegates Conference, saying technological changes were already reshaping workplaces in Antigua and Barbuda and internationally.
He identified clerks, customer-service representatives, data-entry workers and basic bookkeepers among those most exposed to displacement. Employees performing routine duties in hotels, banks and the government service could also see their positions redesigned or eliminated.
“These jobs are now all exposed to obsolescence,” Azille said. “Many of them are held by you, the very members of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union.”
He noted that many of the affected positions are held by women, whom he described as the bedrock of numerous Caribbean families.
Azille warned unions against ignoring the speed of technological change, saying they could eventually find themselves negotiating to preserve positions that had already disappeared.
“If we pretend that this is not happening, I dare say that we will be negotiating for jobs after they would have long disappeared,” he said.
However, the opposition senator said AI should not be viewed solely as a threat. He argued that properly trained employees could use the technology to improve their productivity and increase their value to employers.
“A trained worker who knows how to best utilise AI is worth more to an employer than an untrained worker without it,” Azille said.
He urged trade unions to place technology at the centre of collective bargaining and negotiate protections before employers introduce systems that could displace workers.
Azille said collective agreements should require employers to consult unions before making large-scale technological changes. Workers should also receive adequate notice before their positions are removed or substantially altered.
He called on the government, employers and training institutions to expand access to ongoing education and retraining. Every worker should have an opportunity to learn how to operate new tools and work alongside emerging technology, he said.
The senator said technological developments should improve service delivery without sacrificing workers’ livelihoods or dignity.
“Technological advancement without consideration for human dignity is immoral and must be rebuffed,” he said. “Humans must always be at the centre of development.”
Azille said the union movement must adapt its negotiating strategies to address AI, automation and other emerging technologies while continuing to defend wages, workplace safety, job security and workers’ right to representation.
The warning was consistent with the conference’s theme, “Celebrating 59 Years of Stewardship: Embracing the Changes and Preparing for the Future World of Work.”
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: AI Could Eliminate Clerical, Banking and Hotel Jobs, UPP Senator Warns.