IPPR Urges UK AI Consultation Duty and Worker Levy as 4% Say Tech Cost Jobs
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 29
IPPR Urges UK AI Consultation Duty and Worker Levy as 4% Say Tech Cost Jobs
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 29
A TUC-backed IPPR report called for a legal duty requiring UK employers to consult workers on AI adoption, arguing staff need more power at a pivotal moment for work.
Survey data cited by the thinktank showed AI's effects are already mixed: 20% of workers said it improved working life, 21% said it worsened it, and 4% said they had lost a job.
IPPR also proposed a worker support levy to fund portable benefits such as union membership, insurance and training, aiming to strengthen bargaining power across jobs.
The report said consultation could run through union bargaining, worker board representation or a new consultative body, as it warned AI can augment, degrade or displace labour.
The intervention lands as Labour pushes faster AI adoption for growth after expanding worker rights since 2024, a mix that has already drawn business complaints about rising employment costs.
Can mandatory worker consultation on AI coexist with the speed needed for global competitiveness?
As AI generates vast new wealth, will it be shared with workers or captured by corporations?
With AI automating entry-level tasks, how will the next generation of workers build their careers?
AI and the UK Workforce: Immediate Action Needed on Worker Consultation and Support Levy
Overview
A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Trades Union Congress calls for urgent action on AI governance, highlighting the growing concerns about AI's potential to disrupt working life. The report stresses that the key issue is who will have the power to shape this disruption and whose interests AI will serve. This perspective underscores the immediate need for robust governance frameworks to ensure a fair and equitable future of work. To address these challenges, the IPPR and TUC propose several key measures aimed at empowering workers and guiding AI's impact on the workforce.