The Warehouse denies union claims distribution centre staff are defecating in aisles

More than 300 staff from The Warehouse's distribution centres in Auckland and Christchurch are striking on Thursday over fears that technology will take over their jobs.Workers First Union claimed its members' bathroom breaks were being tracked by artificial intelligence, leading to instances of staff urinating and defecating in distribution aisles.The Warehouse strongly denied these claims, and said it was shocked and appalled that they were being made.Union organiser Hayley Courtney told RNZ she had been fighting the issue for eight months."Having supervisors and managers follow people to the toilet and telling them off for a fundamental right is absolutely ludicrous."She refused to discuss the issue further on Midday Report because the union was in more discussions with the company about what had been happening.Workers fear for the security of their jobs.RNZ / Matthew TheunissenDrones used for stocktaking had been introduced to the distribution centres, which Courtney said had cut down the size of the physical inventory team.As well as the drones for stock taking, a large robot was being introduced to the Auckland warehouse to pack small items for new orders."We're not trying to kill the robot or AI by any means; we're just trying to put in some protection and some mechanisms for our workers for the inevitable loss of jobs. Things like redeployment to other areas and helping them find meaningful work within the company."Workers' fears were "genuine and real", she said. Some workers had worked for the company between 15 and 30 years and with unemployment at an 11-year high, it would be hard for them to find other jobs.She said workers were striking for employment security, seeking assurances in contracts that they could not be easily replaced when technology arrived.Ratifying an employment agreement without achieving any protection over future employment "would be like signing their own death warrant", she saidHayley Courtney is a First Union organiser.RNZ / Blessen TomThe Warehouse Group people officer Richard Parker said he was "shocked and appalled by the union's claim that our team members are urinating and defecating on the floor at work"."This has never happened."Parker said bathroom use was not tracked, and this was made very clear to teams."We use technology, which is not AI as claimed, that has been commonly used in distribution centres around the world for decades to monitor efficiency through scanning devices. It has nothing to do with bathroom use."He said there had been no job losses as a result of introducing stocktaking drones at distribution centres."In fact, we currently have three additional temp roles in this area. The drones improve stock accuracy and the customer experience, while making our distribution centres safer by removing the need for people to work at height in machinery every night."He said no employer could guarantee what roles would look like in the future, but that they would consult, retrain, and redeploy people where they could."The new automation is designed to increase capacity and efficiency, and our team are doing an excellent job learning new skills and working with new technology."He said he did not anticipate any disruptions to stores or customers due to the strike.