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Trade unions demand EU rights and frictionless trade to protect jobs from automation

Trade unions demand EU rights and frictionless trade to protect jobs from automation

Britain must stay in the single market and customs union and maintain EU rights to help reverse manufacturing decline and protect jobs from automation, Britain’s most senior trade union leader has warned.Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), argues in a new report that Britain must have frictionless trade with the EU, amid parliamentary gridlock and continued negotiation between the British government and the EU over Brexit.

The federation of Britain’s unions’ report, “All Tomorrow’s Jobs – How robotics and new technology can create better work”, includes a soft Brexit among the measures needed to revive Britain’s manufacturing industry with a million new jobs by 2030.

The report claims: “Nearly three million UK jobs rely on trade with the EU and around £120bn [$152bn] of trade could be at risk from a Brexit deal that limits UK businesses’ access to EU markets.”

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The report states that the aims of All Tomorrow’s Jobs “will not be possible to achieve if we put obstacles in the way of ourselves and our closest and most important export market, the European Union.

“The TUC believes that the UK must retain barrier-free, tariff-free, frictionless trade in goods and ensure that workers continue to be protected by EU levels of rights.

“The TUC believes that the best option available to achieve this is continued membership of the EU single market and customs union.”

Investment is also needed to prepare for the rise of machines and automation in the workplace, according to the TUC.

There should be funds provided in order to train workers to be ready for the digitalisation of the industry, which entails a move to digital processes rather than hands-on manufacturing work. Automation could prove disruptive to the role of humans in the textile sector.

The report cites the Made Smarter Review, which was conducted by the chief executive of Siemens’ UK arm, Jürgen Maier.

The review argues that “over 10 years, industrial digitalisation could boost UK manufacturing by £455bn, increasing sector growth up to 3% per year. It could create a net gain of 175,000 jobs whilst reducing CO2 emissions by 4.5%.”

More resources will need to be made available due to the implications of an ageing workforce, it adds. The report predicts: “Two-thirds of those who will be in work in 2030 are already in the workforce.

“Investing in mid-career workers is essential to making sure that ongoing employment opportunities are provided in the next wave of technological disruption.”

The TUC notes a disparity in training expenditure between the UK and the EU average, stating: “At present, the UK invests half the EU average on workforce training.

“All workers should have access to a mid-life training review to assess their skills and government must reintroduce individual learning accounts to give everyone a personalised budget for training.”

If the UK government does not take heed of the goals, the TUC report warns that there could be something similar to “the mistakes of past industrial transformations, such as the decline of the coal mining industry, which left unemployment and social devastation in its wake.”