Robots: Tool or Labour?

Today there are few problems as central to the industrial milieux as industrial relations and there seems little reason to suspect that these problems will decrease as time goes on. It would be wrong to assume that industrial relations considered in this context simply refer to the relationships that exist between management and the unions, in fact it refers to compound relationships that are in evidence between management and unions, management and workers and workers and unions. These three elements could in the not too distant future be joined by a fourth element ‐ the industrial robot ‐ as yet uncommon, but which will become ever more popular and an item of capital equipment contributing to the productive effort of industry.