The strike days organised by the ver.di trade union and the works council of TikTok Germany in July and September are undoubtedly the first real labour dispute linked to the use of artificial intelligence in Germany. The reason for a quarter of TikTok Berlin’s 400 employees opting to walk out is simple. The Chinese company wants to significantly reduce internal content moderation through outsourcing and the use of AI. Around 150 employees in the ‘Trust and Safety’ sector and 15 members of the TikTok Live team will lose their jobs. Ironically, it is precisely their work that has ‘fed’ the programmes that will replace them. Hence the protest banners reading “We trained your machines. Pay us what we deserve”. Among other things, the employees concerned and the union are demanding three years’ severance pay and 12 months’ notice. TikTok, for its part, has taken legal action against the works council, accusing it of unduly slowing down the redundancies. In addition, the company’s management summoned some of the strikers and dismissed a colleague who was not involved but showed solidarity. Ver.di describes this as “union busting” and an attempt at intimidation. “It is unacceptable for TikTok to shirk all social responsibility and even refuse to negotiate with us.
As a Berlin correspondent for the French and Swiss press since the late 1990s, I cover a wide range of economic, political and social issues, with a particular focus on the German business and labour market. My areas of interest include co-determination, digitalisation, demographics and ESG/DEI policies.