Union News October 2018
I was sitting down recently for a telephone conversation with my 89-year-old grandmother who lives just outside of Toronto, when she began to voice her displeasure at no longer being able to access counter service and receive tax related information in person from the CRA. She recounted stories of going into her local office and knowing the agent by name, and about just how easy it was to get the information she needed. “Now they want me to use a computer… well I don’t have a computer, Nathaniel!” she said rather angrily. She wasn’t kidding. My Nana isn’t exactly what you would call a technical expert, though she does bake some of the best cookies and banana bread that you will ever taste. And she wasn’t wrong about the profound changes that have occurred to the way we as Canadians interact with the CRA.
All of this got me thinking about how technology is changing not only the way that we interact with the public, but also how it is changing the jobs that we do, and even the jobs that we are needed for. A recent study conducted by the Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Ryerson University in Toronto found that more than 40 percent of the Canadian workforce is at high risk of being replaced by computers and new technology over the next two decades. More recent breakthroughs in the areas of advanced robotics and artificial intelligence mean that automation is moving into areas that where previously occupied by human beings. The nature of the work that we do as CRA employees is such that large portions of our membership are particularly susceptible to being affected by these changes. Furthermore, the study found that Canada’s younger workers and, to a lesser extent older workers as well are more likely to be vulnerable to effects brought on by changing technology and greater automation within the economy. Sean Mullin, executive director of the Brookfield Institute, reflected on what impact the study may have; “We hope these findings can help contribute to an important debate about how Canada should prepare for the effects of automation and computerization on our labour force”. Regardless of which side of the argument you find yourself regarding what impacts these incredible technological changes will have on our labour force and the jobs we do, it is clear that changes are not simply on the horizon… they have already started.
So what role does the labour movement, and specifically large public sector unions have to play in preparing for, and mitigating some of the profound impacts that these changes will have? How do we position ourselves to protect our members? And finally, are we already too late?
According to Sam Gindin, an intellectual and activist best known for his expertise on the labour movement and the economics of the automobile industry, the digital age has already transformed the way we work, and “Some would say that artificial intelligence, robots and automation are destroying it.” More troubling still is Gindin’s take on how unions have adapted to, and reacted to these changes.
“The unions haven’t come to grips with this. They’re floundering. They’re getting hammered… Now the question is: can they just defend people? And they can’t.”
Thankfully this is simply not the reality for UTE members. As an organization we have been and will continue to be proactive in defending our members’ interests and ensuring that as the technological landscape changes, their jobs and ability to earn a living is protected. Through initiatives such as our Technological Change Committee, UTE is continually working to protect our membership. Our Union lobbies the Employer continually to ensure that greater notice of planned technological change is given, and to ensure that the necessary training is provided to our membership to ensure that the negative impacts of these changes are offset. Moreover, our Union will never allow the Employer to lose sight of the profound human impacts that these types of changes can have.
According to Bob Dylan “There is nothing so stable as change”, and while this is certainly true when it comes to technology and its impact on our lives and the way we work, there is also nothing as stable as our Union’s commitment to protecting our members!
Nathaniel (Nate) Angus-Jackman
Communications Committee