Employees say the AI will schedule their service breaks. Their employer says it's not even artificial intelligence.
More than 300 distribution workers at The Warehouse, New Zealand's largest retailer, walked off the job in Auckland and Christchurch on Thursday.
Their union says AI monitors their toilet breaks, and that some staff have ended up urinating and defecating in the aisles. "Having inspectors and managers follow people to the toilet and deny them a basic right is absolutely ridiculous," organizer Hayley Courtney told RNZ.
The company denies all this. Its scanning devices measure efficiency, he said, "not artificial intelligence as claimed" and have nothing to do with bathroom use. " About the claims at the crossing, the commander of his men said: "This never happened. ".
The biggest fear is of jobs. Drones are now counting the inventory, and a large robot arrives to pack orders. "Do I look like a robot? not. I don't," said a woman who has worked there for 23 years. The company says the machines didn't cost anyone a permanent job.