ACTU demands AI regulator and worker protections at Senate inquiry

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called on the federal government to establish a powerful regulator with enforcement powers to protect workers from job losses, surveillance and other harms arising from the rollout of artificial intelligence technologies.

ACTU secretary Melissa Donnelly appeared before the Joint Senate Select Committee AI Inquiry, arguing that workers currently have almost no control over how AI is developed or deployed in their workplaces and urged the committee to endorse binding regulatory protections as a precondition for large US AI companies training their models in Australia.

Donnelly said too many employers were introducing AI without transparency or meaningful consultation, and that the technology was being used in ways that degraded and intensified work and made it more dangerous.

The submission pointed to this week's announcement by National Australia Bank that it would cut 2,500 staff as an example of the lack of transparency workers were experiencing.

Donnelly said NAB management had refused to confirm with the union whether the cuts were linked to AI, and questioned why chief executive Andrew Irvine had addressed the media rather than communicating with affected staff.

The ACTU also cited research released this week by the Transport Workers Union showing that widespread deployment of robotaxis without regulatory protections could put $220 million in wages at risk during early-stage rollout and lead to up to 85,600 job losses.

Beyond job losses, Donnelly said workers had strikingly little trust in how AI was affecting their work, raising concerns about algorithmic hiring decisions, workplace monitoring and the collection of personal data.

The ACTU is pressing for enhanced workers' rights fit for the AI age and national investment in sovereign AI capability to reduce reliance on US technology companies and keep economic benefits flowing to Australians.

"It is the fundamental responsibility of this Inquiry and our political leaders to ensure the fair go is protected in the digital age and that workers are safe, rights and conditions are protected and we have meaningful careers that we can build," Donnelly said.

On the question of US technology companies, Donnelly criticised OpenAI's response to the Medicare data breach, saying the company had failed to notify the right authorities despite actively lobbying government on other matters.

"The tech bros want us to believe that we as a country are powerless. But we are not; we absolutely can be an AI maker and not a taker," she said.