Retail Workers Win a Seat at the Table Before the Robots Arrive, Says ILO

Retail staff should be consulted before new technology lands on the shop floor — that is the headline commitment from a Geneva meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO), where government, employer and worker delegates wrapped up talks with a shared set of conclusions on occupational safety and health in the sector.

The deal, negotiated from 28 September to 2 October 2026, reaches beyond shop assistants to cover people working in warehouses and distribution as well.

A 1981 convention meets the digital age

At the heart of the adopted text sits a requirement that workers be consulted whenever technological change could affect their safety and health at work. Under paragraph 15 of the conclusions, the wording of ILO Convention No. 155, dating from 1981, is for the first time explicitly applied to the rollout of digital systems.

UNI Global, the union body that led the worker delegation under its spokesperson David Bliss of the Australian union SDA, described that link as a ground-breaking precedent for how artificial intelligence will be handled within ILO standards.

Prevention, the framework stresses, must be the central element of safety and health management. That takes in structured risk assessments and adherence to a clear hierarchy of protective measures.

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Stress, staffing and the algorithm looking over your shoulder

Psychosocial strain received far more weight than in earlier texts. Rising work intensity, insufficient staffing levels and compressed working-time arrangements were named among the critical risk areas. Increased connectivity, digital surveillance, and the protection of privacy and personal data also moved into the spotlight.

Negotiators further flagged possible bias built into automated systems and algorithms as a potential hazard for workforces, anchoring the discussion in the principle of equality and non-discrimination at work.

Hostile customers, extreme weather and the gender lens

Beyond technical systems, the final document tackles other job-related pressures in the sector. Violence and harassment by third parties — customers above all — forms a central theme. The text also calls for gender-sensitive approaches to protection measures, given retail's traditionally high share of women workers.

Extreme weather and its effect on working conditions made the list as well, alongside stronger state labour inspection, more precise data collection on workplace accidents and occupational diseases, and dependable social protection.

What happens next

The conclusions adopted in Geneva are an international recommendation framework, not law that applies directly. The results of the meeting are due to go before the ILO Governing Body in March 2027, which will discuss how the agreement is carried forward and embedded within the organisation.

Whatever the guidance from Geneva eventually means for your business, your duties under UK health and safety law remain in force today. A free toolkit bundles the risk assessments, checklists and templates you need to meet the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, COSHH and PUWER — already used by more than 37,000 UK companies. Get the free Health & Safety Toolkit