Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, has called for a tax on the profits of technology companies and automated industries to finance large-scale retraining and upskilling programmes for workers at risk of job loss due to artificial intelligence (AI).
Speaking at the 2025 Labour Writers Association of Nigeria Conference in Ibadan, themed “The Future of Work in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” Ajaero warned that while AI is hailed for efficiency, it is increasingly used by corporations to exploit workers, weaken unions, and widen inequality.
He described AI as the “modern face of class struggle,” arguing that without safeguards, it would undermine collective bargaining, unionisation, and workers’ rights, creating a “digitally dispossessed underclass.”
Ajaero urged unions and policymakers to push for protective laws, including the right to disconnect, limits on algorithmic surveillance, and ensuring shorter workweeks with no pay cuts so that productivity gains benefit workers.
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