Transport unions have adopted global principles calling for workers to be consulted before artificial intelligence (AI) systems are introduced across freight and passenger transport operations.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which represents more than 760 unions and 16.6 million workers in 150 countries, adopted the principles at its Transport Workers’ Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Sri Lanka this week.
South African affiliates include the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa.
The principles cover the use of AI in fleet and warehouse management, driver monitoring, cargo handling, route planning, scheduling, signalling systems, remote port gates and autonomous vehicles.
They call for workers and unions to be informed about AI systems, the data they use and the decisions they influence. The federation also wants unions to be consulted before systems are deployed and workers to retain the right to challenge AI-driven decisions.
Incoming ITF president Frank Moreels said workers should have the right to assess the impact of systems, negotiate before their introduction and retain human authority in safety-critical operations.
“The tech giants selling AI into transport will tell you everything their systems can do – and nothing about what happens when they fail,” he said.
“Workers are the first to see when a system gets it wrong: when a sensor misreads a driver, when a roster pushes crews past safe limits or when an algorithm discriminates.”
The ITF said AI was already being used to allocate work, monitor drivers and influence decisions on hiring, pay and discipline. While the technology could improve productivity, efficiency and safety, failures could threaten working conditions and safety in transport operations.
The principles call for human oversight of safety-critical and employment decisions, independent occupational health and safety assessments before AI systems are introduced, and greater transparency over the collection and use of workers’ data.
They also state that employers should negotiate transition plans where AI could materially affect employment. These should cover job security, training and the redeployment of existing workers.
ITF Future of Work Advisory Group chairperson Horacio Calculli said the issue was no longer whether AI would be used in transport, but who would control it and benefit from it.
“These principles give transport unions, responsible employers and governments a common platform to assess, deploy and govern AI in transport,” he said.
The principles are grounded in international labour standards, including International Labour Organization Convention 193 on Decent Work in the Platform Economy.
The federation said it would develop bargaining, information-request and impact-assessment tools for affiliated unions and build a cross-border picture of how AI was being deployed by multinational transport companies and across supply chains.
