Abstract

The penetration of Artificial Intelligence into workplaces across industries will have significant implications on the labour and employment market. The introduction of AI systems by employers may lead to displacement of human labour, and concerns about duties of employers to provide prior notice, exercise reasonable restraint and provide alternative employment. Even with the co-existence of human and ‘robotic’ or machine labour, it is expected that there will be revolutionary changes in employer-employee relationships with changes in the functioning of Trade Unions and the modes of collective bargaining. Concerns about employees’ privacy and the employment of AI systems for recruitment or surveillance have also remained a contentious issue, and without adequate regulation, may cause arbitrary invasions into privacy. This article briefly discusses the implications of artificial intelligence on labour and employment law and proposes specific and concrete amendments to enable a smooth transition into an AI-enabled workplace. It proposes changes to the definition of employer and employee and the addition of a proviso to ensure that there is human command and oversight over the collective bargaining process. Further, it proposes the introduction of provisions to safeguard employees against arbitrary dismissal on technological grounds and the imposition of a duty of restraint on the employer. It also proposes legislative reforms governing the use of AI systems in recruitment by employers, in consonance with contemporary developments in other jurisdictions.

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