Automation at issue
In addition to large wage increases, dockworker demands include job security as a key concern in an industry that is undergoing massive transformation by automation, AI, and robotics.
Automation is inevitable in the global shipping industry and the union leaders should be taking a pragmatic approach, acknowledge that jobs are going away, negotiate better severance packages, retrain, and “top up” pension terms for their members, said Steven Dickens, Chief Technology Advisor at The Futurum Group.
“The case for autonomous robots, AI, and automation keeps getting stronger. As port workers strike, they are only going to accelerate the adoption of technology by port operators,” Dickens claims. “It’s a lose/lose.”
