The UK needs new laws to protect workers whose employers use artificial intelligence tools to hire, fire or manage them, the Trades Union Congress said on Thursday, warning that Britain was “losing the race” to regulate AI at work.
The TUC, the umbrella organisation for 48 trade unions with about 5.5mn members, said its “ready to go” draft bill offered a pragmatic way to “make existing UK employment law fit for the AI era”, even as the EU pressed ahead with more ambitious, overarching rules on the use of AI.
“AI is already making life-changing calls in the workplace . . . We urgently need to put new guardrails in place to protect workers,” said Kate Bell, the TUC’s assistant general secretary, adding: “The UK can’t afford to drag its feet and become an international outlier.”