Microsoft Australia and ACTU ink AI framework agreement

New deal aims to prioritise skilling and elevate workers’ voices in the design, development and deployment of AI.

Microsoft Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will develop an AI framework agreement with the aims to ensure people are placed in the centre of AI creation.

The two entities will build a framework to elevate the voices and expertise of working people in the introduction of AI and other emerging technologies into Australian workplaces.

Under this framework agreement, Microsoft Australia and the ACTU will be focusing on three priorities; sharing information and learning, embedding the worker voice in the technology development, and collaborating on public policy and skills.

This builds upon a memorandum of understanding between Microsoft and the ACTU, Australian Services Union (ASU), the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA), and Professionals Australia that recognises the need for workers to have a strong collective voice amid the AI transition.

Microsoft has also pledged to respect the rights of creative and media workers and the vital role they play in Australian society, culture and democracy.

Commenting on how this framework impacts partners, a Microsoft spokesperson told CRN Australia, "This Framework Agreement is a positive step for Australia’s IT channel.

“Putting structured skilling, worker voice and responsible deployment at the centre of AI transformation helps create a more confident and capable workforce—something a thriving channel depends on."

In a statement, Joseph Mitchell, ACTU Assistant Secretary said workers through their unions have consistently raised concerns that AI is being developed and deployed without their voices being heard.

“For workers to benefit from AI, we must be central to the process, and this memorandum of understanding is another positive step towards realising that,” he said.

“This partnership ensures workers will be able to access resources through their unions to better engage with and contribute to the design of AI systems in their workplaces.

“It’s time for other big tech and large employers to catch up and get on board with a similar collaborative approach to AI, with workers at the heart of planning and implementation, not simply left to grapple with ill-conceived and enforced changes.”

Over the year, Microsoft Australia and the ACTU will start joint learning sessions, establish regular worker input mechanisms, and identify priority sectors for practical pilots that demonstrate AI’s benefits for productivity, job quality, safety and inclusion.