A trade union campaign to overhaul Antigua and Barbuda’s Labour Code is emerging as an important test of whether Caribbean labour laws can protect workers as artificial intelligence (AI), digital employment and the gig economy transform workplaces worldwide.
The Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU), supported by regional trade union leaders, is demanding comprehensive legislative reform to address employment insecurity, the classification of workers as independent contractors, workplace surveillance and the growing use of AI without adequate consultation with employees.
The issue extends beyond Antigua and Barbuda. Across the Caribbean, the spread of digital platforms and non-standard employment arrangements is challenging traditional definitions of an employee, an employer and an employment relationship. The central question is whether workers will benefit from technological progress or bear its costs through job losses, reduced benefits and weaker employment protections.
At the union’s 59th Annual Delegates Conference, held on September 20 and 21, outgoing president Kem Riley questioned whether employment flexibility was benefiting workers or deepening job insecurity.
“Whilst flexibility has its place, we must ask the important question: are we creating flexibility for workers, or are we creating insecurity and instability for workers? There is a difference,” Riley said.
Riley also criticised the continued use of temporary employment contracts despite amendments to the Labour Code in 2019.
“A worker does not become an independent contractor simply because someone writes those words on a piece of paper,” Riley said, arguing that employment classifications should not be used to circumvent statutory protections.
The union contends that workers placed in precarious employment arrangements risk losing access to sick leave, severance payments, pension contributions and occupational health protections. It is also calling for stronger safeguards for remote and hybrid employees and workers whose jobs are managed through digital platforms.
AI brings opportunity—and serious risks
The urgency of the union’s demands is reinforced by the rapid expansion of AI globally. Businesses are using the technology to automate routine tasks, analyse data, improve customer service and increase productivity. Properly implemented, AI can reduce repetitive workloads, support employees with complex tasks and create opportunities for new skills and occupations.
However, these benefits are not automatic, nor are they necessarily shared equally between employers and workers.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), in its 2025 research on generative AI and employment, estimated that approximately one in four workers worldwide is in an occupation with some degree of exposure to the technology. Its research suggests that most affected jobs are more likely to be transformed than eliminated outright, although the effects will vary across occupations and countries.
AI exposure does not automatically mean job loss. The consequences depend on how employers deploy the technology, which tasks are automated, whether employees receive training and whether workers have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their livelihoods.
For Caribbean countries, the challenge is particularly significant. An ILO and World Bank working paper examining 135 countries warned that developing economies could face disruption before fully realising productivity gains because of gaps in digital infrastructure, skills and access to technology.
Clerical and administrative positions are among those facing potential disruption. In Caribbean economies, the effects could extend to workers in banking, hospitality, customer service and other service-sector occupations.
There are also concerns about AI being used to monitor employees, measure performance, allocate work and influence disciplinary decisions. Although automated systems can improve efficiency, opaque decision-making, intrusive surveillance and inadequate human oversight can undermine privacy, fairness and workers’ autonomy.
The ABWU has therefore called for workers to be consulted before AI systems are introduced, alongside training and retraining programmes to help employees adapt to changing job requirements.
The union’s position is not necessarily a rejection of technological advancement. Rather, it raises the question of whether employers should be allowed to introduce transformative technologies without first considering their effects on employees.
Why Caribbean trade unions should pay attention
The Antigua initiative matters because the challenges facing its workers are not confined to one jurisdiction. An ILO study examining the platform economy in 11 Caribbean countries identified important questions surrounding legal protections, workers’ representation and the opportunities and challenges created by platform work.
Digital platforms can widen access to income-generating opportunities, including for people who face barriers to conventional employment. However, workers classified as independent contractors may have limited access to minimum-wage protections, paid leave, social security and collective bargaining.
Automated systems can compound these difficulties when they determine assignments, earnings, performance ratings or continued access to work without adequate transparency or an effective appeals process.
These issues are also being debated internationally. In June 2026, the ILO held negotiations on international employment standards for platform workers, including questions about wages, benefits, employment classification and algorithmic management.
For Caribbean unions, these developments underline the need to ensure that technological innovation does not weaken established labour protections.
Regional cooperation could help prevent countries from competing for investment by offering employers weaker safeguards at workers’ expense. Common principles on employment classification, consultation over workplace technology, data privacy, social protection and the right to challenge automated decisions could strengthen workers’ position across the region.
Jamaican trade union leader Kavan Gayle, president-general of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, has supported modernising Antigua and Barbuda’s labour legislation and argued that unions must participate in discussions involving governments, employers and civil society.
Such participation is important because decisions about automation can affect not only individual jobs but also wages, working conditions, union membership and the ability of workers to bargain collectively.
Reform must extend beyond legislation
The proposed overhaul also highlights another challenge: labour laws are only as effective as the institutions responsible for enforcing them.
In October, trade unionist and senator Chester Hughes called for comprehensive labour reform, including changes to workers’ compensation legislation and improvements to the Labour Department. He criticised the department’s reliance on handwritten records and called for better staffing, training and digital case-management systems.
Workers cannot fully benefit from legal protections if complaints are delayed, records are difficult to retrieve or enforcement mechanisms lack adequate resources.
The government’s response and the precise scope and timing of any proposed legislative amendments will therefore be important in determining whether the union’s demands translate into meaningful change.
For Caribbean trade unions, the stakes are substantial. The task is not to reject AI or technological advancement, but to ensure that productivity improvements do not come at the expense of job security, fair treatment and decent working conditions.
The central test will be whether workers participate in decisions about how technology is introduced, receive opportunities to develop new skills and share in the gains it creates.
Antigua and Barbuda’s proposed reforms could become a reference point for unions throughout the Caribbean as they confront the same global transformation. The outcome will depend on the protections ultimately established, the effectiveness of enforcement and the willingness of governments and employers to recognise workers as participants in technological change rather than simply its subjects.
