Australian dock workers are demanding a 28-hour work week with no loss of pay as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation expands across the country's ports. The push is being led by port logistics giant DP World, which handles around 40% of Australia's container shipments.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said DP World's AI strategy has put workers' jobs "in the crosshairs." In a statement on July 3, the union declared: "If DP World wants AI and automation, then they must pay the social dividend. The new technology doesn't have to cost our members their jobs or put their livelihoods at risk just so a terminal operator can boost profits."
The BBC has contacted DP World for comment and the MUA for more details. According to a study by the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research, commissioned by the MUA, Dubai-based DP World is increasingly testing AI tools to manage employees and work schedules in its operations.
The automation program is part of a pattern of pushing AI into operations "without genuine consultation" and threatens up to a thousand jobs, or more than 60% of the dock and maintenance workforce, the study said. The company has also proposed the use of AI-assisted remote-control cranes and driverless vehicles.
The union argued that technology "should be used to improve workers' lives, not destroy them." DP World dock workers currently work around 32 to 35 hours a week, depending on location, according to the Australian Financial Review, which first reported the negotiations.
State-owned DP World is one of the world's largest port operators, ultimately controlled by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In Australia, it moves millions of shipping containers annually through its ports in Sydney, Melbourne, and other parts of the country. With operations in 84 countries and over 126,000 employees worldwide, the firm handles about a tenth of global container traffic.
Last year, DP World's Asia Pacific chief executive Glen Hilton said the company is using AI across ports in the region to manage increasingly complex supply chains. He stated that the use of the technology is "no longer optional" but essential.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk