For over a century, industrial relations rested on a simple triangle: workers, employers and the State. Each side bargained, argued and eventually settled. Today, a fourth player has quietly entered the room: the algorithm.
Artificial intelligence is changing how work is assigned, measured and rewarded. Software now screens job applicants, tracks delivery riders, checks workers’ movement at the workplace, measures productivity, scores call-centre staff and even recommends who should be let go. When a machine makes such decisions, a worker may never know why he was passed over, or whom to question. Transparency, once a matter of showing the payslip, now means explaining the code.
The first fear, naturally, is job loss. Clerical work, data entry, basic coding and customer support are already being automated. Yet history suggests technology also creates new roles. The real challenge is the gap between the jobs that vanish and the jobs that appear, and whether displaced workers can cross it. Re-skilling must be a shared promise, with employers funding it, governments enabling it and unions guiding it, rather than a lecture delivered to the unemployed.
Then comes the matter of the gig and platform economy. Millions of delivery partners and drivers are “partners” in name but are directed by an app in practice. They lack fixed wages, social security or a place to air grievances. India’s new labour codes have made a beginning by recognising gig workers, but enforcement and clarity remain work in progress. Moreover, labour codes have not addressed the AI challenges in industrial relations.
Trade unions face their own test. Their strength came from factories where workers stood together. In a world of remote work, freelancers and scattered platforms, collective voice must find new forms, including digital unions, worker councils and the right to negotiate over how AI is used.
Employers, too, have a stake. Productivity gains from AI will mean little if trust collapses. Surveillance that treats the workforce as data points breeds fear, not performance. Firms that involve workers early, share the gains and keep humans accountable for final decisions are likely to prosper.
Finally, the State must act as a referee and a planner. It must protect privacy, prevent algorithmic bias, extend social security to all forms of work, and invest in education that prepares young people for change.
AI is neither villain nor saviour. It is a tool whose impact depends on the rules we write around it. The goal of industrial relations has always been fairness with productivity. In the age of AI, that goal remains the same; only the table has grown larger. The question is whether we will let everyone take a seat.
Our latest cover story dissects the multi-faceted disruptions AI introduces to modern industrial relations. Rather than viewing technology as a disruptor, we convene a panel of frontline industry practitioners, trade union leaders, and veteran employment law experts to untangle the emerging challenges of labour-management dynamics. Together, they analyse the shifting legal frameworks and offer a forward-looking roadmap for how humans and machines can operate in optimal harmony.
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