NEARLY a third of finance workers say they are “very concerned” about how AI or new technology could affect their jobs, a survey by Aegis union showed today.

Just over 85 per cent said that AI or new technology has already been introduced into their area of work, the union’s poll of its members found.

More than four in five reported being concerned about how AI or new technology could affect their job, including 31.2 per cent who said they are “very concerned.”

Only 38.5 per cent said their employer had consulted or engaged workers before introducing AI/new technology, with more than four in 10 saying that they had not been consulted.

Aegis general secretary Brian McDaid said: “Our members have delivered a clear message through this important survey on technological change and the adoption of AI across the finance sector. AI is already here — but worker involvement isn’t keeping pace. 

“These are not the caricatured ‘high-rolling’ finance executives associated with big salaries and bonuses. They are workers, many of them lower-paid, who keep our industry running every day.

“As a union, we know that change in the workplace is nothing new. Technology will continue to transform the way we work, and AI will be an increasingly important part of that change.

“What our survey makes clear is that our members, through their union, want a meaningful say in how that change happens.”

Aegis has said that it will be writing to employers to share the survey findings, alongside a new charter calling for the sector-wide prioritisation of workers’ voices.