An "obstinate" worker's "barrage" of lengthy AI-generated "dense, repetitive and often rambling" emails and refusal to accept that his employer had resolved his complaints warranted his dismissal, the FWC has ruled.
Employment law experts are urging employers to tread carefully in dealing with workers' increasing use of AI to make flexibility requests, respond to investigations and lodge complaints.
Now is the time to consider the effects of introducing humanoid robots into the workforce, taking heed of the gaps the AI transition has exposed and minimising the detrimental impact on workers, an academic says.
The NSW Minns Labor Government is closer to winning passage of controversial Workers Compensation amendments designed to rein in claims for psychological injuries, along with a bill making it easier for unions to inspect employers' digital work systems.
Microsoft says an Australian-first framework agreement with the ACTU sets a new standard for "responsible AI diffusion" across workplaces, protecting those working on AI and affected by it, while prioritising training for unions and employees.
In an "industry-first", a newly-approved union agreement covering editorial employees at news publications including Crikey and The Mandarin explicitly prohibits AI from replacing human employees and requires all output to have human oversight.
The Albanese Government has retreated from proposed mandatory "guardrails" in its national AI policy released today, relying instead on existing regulators to report any legislative gaps to the newly-formed AI Safety Institute.
As the Albanese Government revealed plans for an AI Safety Institute to harness productivity gains and combat "malign uses" of the new technology, a "confronting" report from the FSU champions the need for a digital "just transition" amid concerns about job security and surveillance in the finance sector.
Shadow IR minister Tim Wilson has made it clear that he is some way from releasing any Coalition IR policy, but has nevertheless indicated that it must address AI's looming "reset" to the way people work and underlined that he strongly favours WFH and workplace flexibility, after the disastrous pre-poll stance earlier this year.
Artificial intelligence "has its downsides" but has largely lifted the quality of self-represented litigants' submissions to the FWC, while improving their access to justice, a senior member told last week's NSW IR Society Newcastle branch annual conference
