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UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings told leading Swiss business magazine Bilan that digitalization will cannibalise jobs.

Jennings speaking to Bilan at the recent World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos said, “The World Economic Forum said that 7 million jobs will disappear and more will be created, but when you look at what other research has said, this seems rather modest.”

“Oxford University research suggests that in a study on 700 occupations in the states half are under threat of automation. Another study suggested that for every 10 jobs lost only 1 is created.”

“This is what has emerged – the cannibilisation of jobs. This is not just the sheer volume of jobs which face extinction but the content of these jobs. The technology cannibalises work that is being done by people today.”

“The picture is one of dramatic change and we must come to the conclusion that this really does matter. We should not to listen to the tech fantasists who say this is marvelous – there is a 60 million job gap since the great financial crash and this gap has not been filled.”

“The world has to create 600 million jobs in the next ten years. With financial volatility technological revolution, this is not just a first world problem. This is ubiquitous - it will be as worrying in an African village as in downtown Zurich.”

“The Uber crowd and the sharing economy – their message is that there is no employment relationship. I pay you, I hire you, I observe what you do and I fire you, but I do not employ you."

Watch the full interview here.