Mike Clancy on the future world of work at Acas conference

Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy spoke on a panel to discuss the future world of work at the Acas Conference on Thursday, May 15.

Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, held their conference in central London with guest speakers and delegates to explore the resetting employment relations and building healthy workplaces to help grow the economy.

Future world of work

Technological change is a huge challenge for the future of industrial relations and trade union voice is essential as workplaces adapt.

Mike Clancy appeared on a panel alongside Anna Thomas from the Institute for the Future of Work, where they discussed topics including AI in the workplace, and how to ensure union voice is consulted as workplaces adapt to technological change.

He spoke about the need for employers to be as constructive as possible with their workforce, saying ‘employers get the unions they deserve’, and that industrial relations work best when employers and unions collaborate and consult together.

Mike also emphasised that Prospect represents workers at the forefront of technological change and development, and so it’s not a case of ‘union says no’ when it comes to AI adoption. In fact, he said, in many areas that Prospect represents, technology has the potential to improve productivity and working conditions.