1. Real concerns behind the resistance
1）. Fear of being replaced by their own jobs
In recent years, with the advent of the intelligent era, the application of automated equipment in the manufacturing industry has become more and more common, which makes workers feel uneasy. In the welding industry, the emergence of collaborative robots has brought unknown pressure to welders while improving the efficiency, quality and precision of welding. In the past, hundreds of workers were required to work together on an assembly line. Now, automated welding robots and assembly robots operate accurately and efficiently. They are tireless and accurate, which has greatly reduced the demand for manpower. Workers who originally engaged in these jobs are facing the risk of unemployment. Workers are afraid that automation will be like a ruthless "job harvester", easily taking away their jobs that they have relied on for many years. This fear has become an important source of their resistance to automation.
2）. The difficult climb of skill transformation
Traditional workers have been in familiar positions for a long time, and most of them have accumulated specific manual operation skills, which have an advantage in traditional industries. However, the popularization of automated production and the reshaping of work processes and skill requirements require workers to master programming knowledge, be able to skillfully operate intelligent equipment, and perform daily maintenance and debugging of industrial robots. For many older workers with limited education, it is very difficult to learn these new knowledge and skills.
3）. Concerns about sustainable income
In the early stage of introducing automated equipment, enterprises need to invest a lot of money in procurement, installation and debugging, which changes the cost structure of enterprises. More funds flow to equipment, limiting the growth of workers' wages and the improvement of welfare benefits. Workers work hard, but their income grows slowly, and there are even cases of salary cuts. This concern about the loss of current income and the uncertainty of future income makes workers resist automation.
2. Real scenes of intensified contradictions
Data show that in the past five years, the number of installations of automated collaborative robots in the welding industry has increased by about 20% per year. This trend has continuously changed the industry model, and the contradictions between workers and collaborative robots have also intensified. Many real scenes are worrying. Take a medium-sized welding company as an example. After the introduction of automated collaborative robots, production efficiency increased by about 30%, but the control of labor costs was very obvious. Within two years after the introduction of robots, the average growth rate of workers' wages was only 2%, far lower than the normal growth level of the industry, and some companies even cut benefits. As robots take on more and more core welding tasks, workers are gradually marginalized. According to industry surveys, about 70% of welders believe that they may do simpler and auxiliary work in the future.
These real-life scenarios reflect that the contradiction between workers and automated collaborative robots in the welding industry is not groundless. While pursuing efficient production and reducing costs, if companies cannot properly handle the interests and career development of workers, the contradiction will only continue to deepen, which will not only affect the workers' work enthusiasm, but may also hinder the long-term development of the company.
3. Common development after breaking the deadlock
The resistance of workers to automated robots is not simply conservative or stubborn. The root cause is the dilemma caused by survival, skills, and psychological reasons. Resolving this contradiction is a must-answer question for the coordinated development of technology, humanities, and society. As we race on the fast track of technological progress, we must not leave workers behind, but work hand in hand with them, so that automation can become a wing for workers to improve themselves and expand their career boundaries, rather than a hammer that smashes their jobs. In the future, it is not impossible for artificial intelligence and traditional workers to coexist harmoniously. It depends on whether we can face the demands of workers at present and pave a broad road that balances technological progress and humanistic care with wisdom and warmth.