Australian dockworkers are demanding a 28-hour workweek with no loss of pay as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation expands at the country’s ports. The AI push is led by port logistics giant DP World, which the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says has put workers’ jobs “in the crosshairs”. The union said:
Australian dockworkers are demanding a 28-hour workweek with no loss of pay as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation expands at the country’s ports.
The AI push is led by port logistics giant DP World, which the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says has put workers’ jobs “in the crosshairs”.
The union said: “If DP World wants AI and automation then it must pay the social dividend. New technology does not have to cost our members their jobs or put their livelihoods at risk just so a terminal operator can increase its profits.”
The BBC has contacted DP World for comment and MUA for further details.
Dubai-based DP World is increasingly testing artificial intelligence tools to manage employees and work schedules across its operations, according to a study by the Center for International Corporate Tax Research and Responsibility, commissioned by the MUA.
The automation program is part of a pattern that pushes AI into operations “without genuine consultation” and threatens up to 1,000 jobs or more than 60% of the dock and maintenance workforce, according to the study.
The company also proposed the use of AI-assisted remote control cranes and driverless vehicles, he added.
Technology “should be used to improve workers’ lives, not destroy them,” the union said in a July 3 statement, calling for a 28-hour work week.
DP World dockworkers are currently believed to be working between 32 and 35 hours a week, depending on their location, according to the Australian Financial Review, which first reported on the negotiations.
State-owned company DP World is one of the world’s largest port operators and is ultimately controlled by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
In Australia, it moves millions of containers each year through its ports in Sydney, Melbourne and other parts of the country.
With operations in 84 countries and more than 126,000 employees worldwide, the company handles around a tenth of the world’s container traffic.
Last year, DP World Asia Pacific CEO Glen Hilton said the company is using AI across ports in the region to manage increasingly complex supply chains.
The use of technology “is no longer optional” but essential, he said.
Keep following us for the latest insights.
