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In a letter published in the Financial Times, General Secretary of UNI Global Union, Philip Jennings stated that the "robotic short-sightedness of our leaders, rather than improvements in technology, are the real threat to our livelihoods."

Here is the full letter:

"Sir, Martin Wolf is correct to assert that the expected robot revolution will require a redistribution of income and wealth if it is not to further feed the inequality gap (Comment, February 12).

Robots may not need a union but employees do. To safeguard the rights of the human population, give them a living wage and the right to collective bargaining.

OECD statistics bear out the correlation between the fall in collective bargaining coverage and the rise of poverty and inequality.

It is the robotic short-sightedness of our leaders, rather than improvements in technology, which are the real threat to our livelihoods."

Philip Jennings was part of a panel discussion with Erik Brynjolfsson, (Professor, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology),  Lawrence H. Summers (Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University), and Gita Wirjawan (Minister of Trade of Indonesia) at the World Economic Forum in Davos on "Rethinking Technology and Employment".

Full article here: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/90f290a2-9592-11e3-8371-00144feab7de.html...