By Noah Secomb in Canberra

The peak union says blaming workers for Australia’s declining productivity growth is lazy, and is calling for employees to have a seat at the table in deciding how artificial intelligence is used in the workplace.

Labour productivity measures GDP per hours worked and is a driver of economic growth, real wages, and overall living standards.

The measure has tumbled from a 20-year average annual growth rate of around 1.8 per cent near the start of the century to about 0.8 per cent now.

The decline has pushed the Labor government to search for new ways to shake up the economy, including looking to AI to provide a much-needed long-term boost to economic growth.

But Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Melissa Donnelly has called for workers to have a say in the rollout of AI in the workplace.

“Even when productivity gains have been achieved, workers haven’t had their fair share in what has been achieved,” she told the ABC’s 7.30 on Thursday.

“Productivity is thrown around by employer groups, by business groups, and it’s a bit of a lazy claim.

“It’s too easily thrown around, and the only answer that business can come up with is cutting wages or conditions.”

Labor has shut down earlier suggestions to introduce a veto power for workers to ban AI use in the workplace, with the unions now looking to how existing regulations can be used.

“It is technology. We have seen governments step in on issues like social media and set some guardrails, and we have all sorts of commentators from Bill Gates to others, saying that we’ve got to have some rules around how this works,” Ms Donnelly said.

The union secretary has called for upskilling to be a part of the debate to ensure stable jobs exist into the future.

Treasury advice released on Tuesday suggested AI will be a major driver of productivity for the national economy with the capacity to disrupt high-skilled, non-routine and cognitive jobs in a way never seen in previous technological advances.

Labor has noted an increased use of AI will be an important driver of productivity but not the only measure, with further details to emerge in the next Intergenerational Report in coming weeks.

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