Melissa Donnelly to Lead ACTU Amid AI Workforce Concerns and Union Challenges

The new boss of Australia's biggest union is confronting a question that is increasingly worrying workers: not just whether AI will take their jobs, but if any jobs will be left for their children.

Public Sector Union boss Melissa Donnelly will take the helm of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), inheriting a movement at the height of its political influence but facing a long-term decline in membership and a fight over the impact of AI on the workforce.

"Lots of workers aren't just worried about what it means for their jobs, they're worried about what it means for their teenage kids," Ms Donnelly said.

"Are there going to be jobs for them in the future?"

Things are very different from when Ms Donnelly was a 15-year-old union member clocking in to shifts at her local Target.

Today the average union member is 44 years old and, like her, a working mum.

Trade union membership has been in general decline since 1992, but under outgoing secretary Sally McManus it increased for the first time since 2011.

Despite that gain, less than 4 per cent of members were aged 15 to 19, while about 7 per cent were aged 20 to 24.

Ms McManus said her replacement represented generational change.

"With two school-aged children and having led a large union, she well knows the pressures working people are under," she said.

The cost of living will be Ms Donnelly's first focus when she takes the helm at the end of August.

"Every time you go to the checkout it costs more and more," she said.

"It will continue to be a key focus for our movement."

Donnelly inherits fight to win back young workers

Ms Donnelly inherits the long-held challenge to bring more workers into the base.

She will also have to deal with a series of reputational hits to the union movement in recent years, particularly in Victoria with the CFMEU forced into administration and a looming royal commission into the state's Big Build program.

Despite those headwinds, trade unions have had an exceptional run under the current federal Labor government, with wins including Same Job Same Pay and the Right to Disconnect.

Ms Donnelly said these real gains were the way the union movement must continue to appeal to younger workers most at risk of losing work to AI.

"We're already making good progress," she said.

"We've got to continue that work, we've got to remain relevant, and that's the way I believe we will continue to have young people join our movement."

Beyond real wage growth and a push for better working conditions, there remains unanswered questions and an inherent tension around the ability to raise living standards through productivity gains without ultimately replacing workers with AI.

"[AI] obviously has the capacity to bring fundamental change to workers, and our job is to make sure there are strong guardrails in place," Ms Donnelly said.

Public sector boss takes the lead

Ms Donnelly has trotted a very Labor path.

She worked for left-leaning think tank The McKell Institute, and started her union career as a 25-year-old lawyer fighting the Howard government's bid to stop unionised public sector workers participating in protest action against WorkChoices laws.

"For me, that was a galvanising experience," she said.

"It really motivated me in my career on behalf of working people to advance the interests of union members."

Ms Donnelly went on to spend seven years at the helm of the Community and Public Sector Union as secretary.

Her major wins during her tenure include the reversal of the outsourcing of government work to big consultancy firms, and securing work-from-home rights for public service employees.

Ms McManus said Ms Donnelly had "overwhelming support" from all unions.

The ACTU will announce a replacement for outgoing president Michele O'Neil later this year.