Labour to investigate impact of 'robot workers'

It comes as a survey shows workers believe more technology will decrease their wages but boost their productivity

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson (Getty)

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson is to launch a commission into ‘robot workers’ aiming to explore the impact of technology on the workplace.

The body, which he will chair himself, will in particular seek to work out the potential impact on wages of automation.

It comes as Mr Watson highlighted a new YouGov survey, showing more workers think their wages will decrease rather than increase as result of technology.

Mr Watson plans to say: “Daily we hear stories of machines and systems that can do things we thought only humans could do - driving cars, drafting contracts, even composing music.

“It’s been called the ‘fourth industrial revolution’, a new era of fast technology-driven change, which we’re beginning to feel in everything we do.

“And it’s uncertain because it isn’t yet fulfilling its potential to change working lives for the good - we aren’t seeing it.”

The YouGov poll shows only 6 per cent of workers think their wages will increase as a result of increased automation, while 22 per cent think they will decrease.

They also think they have not been provided with adequate information about the impact of automation on their job by either the government, by 50 per cent to 12 per cent, or their employer, by 40 per cent to 22 per cent.

However, more workers did actually support increasing investment in new technology and thought their productivity would improve.