The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is seeking a new deal for workers on the introduction of new technology and automation in their workplaces and better access to training.

A delegation from the trade union will be attending the Scottish Labour Conference in Edinburgh to discuss the deal.

Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, with many members also in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry, and other trades.

Tracy Gilbert – Usdaw Regional Secretary for Scotland says: “We are deeply concerned by the vast developments in workplace technology and automation in Scotland in recent years.

“Prior to the pandemic, automation was expected to cost Scotland 230,000 jobs over the next decade. Recent figures highlight the acceleration in automation with an estimated nine in ten employees needing to retrain by 2030.”

Many industries the union represents have been hard by automation, and say the government is not doing enough to retrain workers.

“The Scottish Government’s Flexible Workforce Development Fund offers an opportunity to deliver the skills necessary to adapt to these changes. However, we are clear that in its current form the Fund is failing to help employers access a much higher portion of their Apprenticeship Levy contributions,” Gilbert continued.

Usdaw is therefore calling on the Scottish Labour Party to commit to several demands to protect their members from job cuts amid a recession.

This includes a significant and long-term investment in skills funding, including coordination of skill and adult education budgets across Scotland.

Further, the union is seeking the support of a legal right to paid time off for retraining to encourage greater digital skills among its members.

The Scots Labour Party is also being called on to legislate a requirement for employers to consult on new technology, including the use of Equality Impact Assessments which employers must act upon.

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Other stipulations include removing the current single site restrictions and increasing the cap places on individual firms, reviewing the Retail Modern Apprenticeship to ensure a more agile system for adults, and promote action to tackle under-representation.

Gilbert concluded: “We are clear that we need a new deal for workers based on comprehensive skills training, strengthening trade union rights and high quality, secure employment. At the moment it is too easy and too cheap for employers to make workers redundant as a result of the introduction of automation systems; this needs to change. We are looking for the support of conference delegates for this proposition.”

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