Lesson in dockworkers' strike for developing nations

Some 45,000 dockworkers from Maine to Texas were on strike for three days, from Oct 1 to 3, but by bringing work to a standstill on the East and Gulf coast ports in the United States they sent a clear warning about the need to find a balance between advanced technology and jobs.

Apart from demanding more pay, the workers were also demanding a ban on automation in ports, which they see as a threat to their jobs.

The International Longshoremen's Association, which was representing the 45,000 striking dockworkers, said they had reached a tentative deal to suspend the strike until Jan 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The two sides have arrived at a consensus on raising pay for the workers but the issue of ban on automation remains to be addressed. Since this is about whether certain jobs will continue to exist, which is more important than how much the workers are paid, a compromise seems unlikely by Jan 15.

While technological innovation always raises efficiency, it sometimes makes human labor irrelevant. The loss of jobs in one sector is sometimes balanced with the emergence of new jobs in emerging sectors, but not everyone gains from such transitions.

For a developed economy such as the US, it's hard to contain so many vested interests, which is why the strike happened. It was ultimately called off, but in all likelihood there will be another strike soon if the problems are not addressed.

China and other developing economies must prepare in advance for scenarios such as the dockworkers' strike in the US. It's necessary to take jobs into consideration when introducing new technology such as artificial intelligence.

Also, employees in the sectors that are most likely to see job losses require subsidized skills training and more support to stay employable, so that strikes such as the one by the US dockworkers do not happen elsewhere.

- Zhang Zhouxiang, China Daily