Labour can lay the groundwork for a labour market fit for the digital age

With the government coming apart at the seams, digital rights at work may seem like a distraction. There is no shortage of challenges facing working people. But in a fast-changing digital environment, it is not something that either working people or the government can ignore.

There is an important agenda for the future of work, and the changing nature of digital technology is transforming how we are managed and work. This week during the TUC Congress, we have seen motions from Usdaw on automation at work and from Equity on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative industries. These build on the work Labour has been doing in its new deal for working people and the employment rights green paper. The GMB, Community and Prospect have also been leading on this work as well, working with sibling unions as part of the TUC’s AI working group.

The contrast between the changing nature of work and the chaotic approach of the new government (if you can call it a government) could not be greater. The uncertainty created by the new vacancy in Downing Street only adds to the concern. With likely cuts, assuming the new Prime Minister approves them, will come job losses, and unscrupulous employers may see this as a chance to trade pay for terms and conditions, further eroding our security at work.

We cannot allow ministers to use the current crisis as an excuse for a bonfire of employment safeguards, which would breach promises made during the Brexit referendum campaign. Taking back control should mean a fair say for people at work, not just tax breaks for the super wealthy.

Ensuring working people are treated with respect and have a say over the use of digital technology at work should be top of Labour’s agenda for the new world of work. If the Conservatives want to really grow the economy, it should be part of their agenda as well.

Prospect has been leading the conversation about how the use of digital technology is changing our workplaces and how our laws need to catch-up with the pace of change. The growing use of data and algorithmic decision-making in recruitment and performance management poses serious risks to fairness in the workplace.

Algorithms might be blind to protected characteristics, but the humans creating them aren’t. Without proper oversight and attention, unconscious biases could be baked into supposedly objective and impartial methods of assessing aptitude and performance. Far from getting a grip on this issue, the government’s data protection and digital information bill waters down the right to human review for automated processing, which risks worsening this digital wild west. 

We’ve also been campaigning for limits to be placed on the use of surveillance technology in the workplace. Polling we commissioned last year found that the number of people being monitored at work had increased by 25% in just six months, ranging from keystroke monitoring to webcam surveillance. This is a popular agenda: 80% of workers want to see the use of webcams to monitor remote workers in their homes either banned or heavily regulated.

The technology that has allowed many workers to work in a hybrid fashion has also accelerated the growth of an always-on culture that leaves us burned out and unable to switch off. Workers need a right to disconnect from their jobs to restore the balance between working life and home life. This doesn’t need to be a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach – but instead a requirement on employers to consult with their employees and employee representatives to agree a set of rules that works for an organisation and its workers. 

Prospect hasn’t been waiting for the government to act. We’ve equipped our reps with a digital tech guide to provide them with information, help and advice so they can challenge, negotiate and bargain over the introduction of digital technology at work and how our data is used. 

Whilst we’ve made progress with employers on an individual basis, we want to see the government finally bring forward its long-awaited employment bill to rebuild workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities in the modern workplace. The bill would also give the government the opportunity to make good on its promise to prevent anything like P&O’s egregious and illegal Zoom sacking of hundreds of workers ever happening again. 

The “modern, brilliant Britain” that Truss has promised to deliver (deliver, deliver) won’t be achieved without genuine social partnership, and the government must be brought to together with employers and workers – including their unions – to solve the deep and complex challenges our country faces. 

Labour has a chance to lead here and move the conversation on from picket lines to getting offline – fertile ground for a party aiming to win over an electorate that is underpaid and overworked. In places like my community in Peterborough, technology is driving whole new sectors. A decade ago, the city was still defined by its engineering heritage and skills. Today, that has been replaced by one of the fastest growing logistics and warehousing sectors in the country, an industry built on advances in digital technology. As the government in waiting, and with business leaders saying they are the only team on the pitch, Labour can lay the groundwork for a labour market that is fit for the digital age.

READ LABOUR’S NEW DEAL FOR WORKING PEOPLE HERE