How the digital revolution changes our work life – Pl 03 2017

7 June 2017 | 09:30 - 10:30 | Grand Ballroom, Swissotel, Tallinn, Estonia | |
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Session teaser

Last year’s EuroDIG overarching theme was: “Embracing the digital revolution”. The discussion was focused on the development of digital markets in Europe and Industry 4.0. Recent developments have shown that some people fear the digital revolution goes along with a loss of their work places and they have less trust in the future. Therefore we are looking at the “DIGital futures” form a different angle this year and would like to discuss “promises and pitfalls”.

Keywords

basic income, work life, digitalisation; collaboration

Session description

While the digital revolution can undoubtedly improve and rationalize our work life in a number of ways, for example by robots taking over routine/repetitive/arduous tasks and by a better reconciliation of work life and family life to mention just two, the discussion will also look into the challenges it may pose to traditional workers’ rights as guaranteed by the European Social Charter (ESC) and as interpreted by the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR).

The exact nature and scope of these challenges will be shaped by how the digital revolution interacts with other key developments of our time such as demographic change (ageing), globalization and climate change.

During this plenary we will explore the roles of the different stakeholder groups. How should industry cooperate with government when it comes to legislation? How should policy making processes look like in the future? What influence has the technical community and which role can play the civil society? Shall we consider universal basic income and reverse our social systems completely? Finland is the first country in Europe experimenting in this direction. What are their conclusions so far? What kind of role models we know already for globally operating business and what are the opportunities, what are the challenges?

The foregoing keynote about the initiative from the European Commission “Next Generation Internet” will open up the topic.

Format

Moderated discussion including the audience

Further reading

The European Social Charter

• Effects of digital revolution on employment: driver of job growth, transitional limitation on job growth, or cause of lasting and progressive joblessness (“technological unemployment”)?
  The question of whether the digital revolution will lead to net job creation or net job destruction is disputed; probably the predominant view is that at least in the short run the digital revolution could destroy (automation, robotics, etc.) more jobs than it creates, but with a possibility for job growth in the longer run.
  Under Article 1§1 ESC, in order to guarantee the right to work, States must pursue a policy of full employment. According to ECSR this means that States must adopt and follow an economic policy which is conducive to creating and preserving jobs and must take adequate measures to assist those who become unemployed in finding and/or qualifying for a job.
• How the digital revolution impacts just working conditions: working time, health and safety at work, fair remuneration.
  The challenge here is the “decent work deficits” (in ILO parlance) which characterise non-standard employment, in particular employment in the “gig” or “platform” economy (Uber, Airbnb, TaskRabbit, etc.), which is not based on the traditional employer-dependent employee distinction. There is much research to indicate that working time in these forms of employment is either unregulated or not sufficiently regulated, that remuneration is often (extremely) low and that health and safety conditions are not adequate or not adequately monitored by labour inspection authorities.
  The ESC perspective on working conditions is to some extent the “one (wo)man, one job, one wage” perspective whereas the new non-standard forms of employment are often characterized by the worker performing multiple jobs/tasks and thus with multiple sources of income:
  
  • Article 2§1 ESC guarantees workers the right to reasonable limits on daily and weekly working hours, including overtime. This right must be guaranteed through legislation, regulations, collective agreements or any other binding means. In order to ensure that the limits are respected in practice, an appropriate authority must supervise whether the limits are being respected.
  • Article 3 guarantees the right to health and safety at work (policy, regulations, supervision/enforcement/labour inspection and consultation). The right of every worker to a safe and healthy working environment is a “widely recognised principle, stemming directly from the right to personal integrity, one of the fundamental principles of human rights”. The purpose of Article 3 is thus directly related to that of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which recognises the right to life.
  • Article 4§1 ESC guarantees the right to a fair remuneration such as to ensure a decent standard of living. It applies to all workers, including to civil servants and contractual staff in the state, regional and local public sectors, to branches or jobs not covered by collective agreement, to atypical jobs and to special regimes or statuses. “Remuneration” relates to the compensation – either monetary or in kind – paid by an employer to a worker for time worked or work done. It covers, where applicable, special bonuses and gratuities. Social transfers (e.g. social security allowances or benefits) are taken into account only when they have a direct link to the wage. To be considered fair within the meaning of Article 4§1, the minimum or lowest net remuneration or wage paid in the labour market must not fall below 60% of the net average wage.

• The digital revolution and collective labour rights: unionization and collective bargaining
  The digital revolution clearly poses challenges to trade unions that have already been weakened in recent decades. The often fragmented and dispersed nature of workplaces in the gig or platform economy potentially makes it difficult for trade unions to conduct their (traditional) activities and recruit members. The new non-standard forms of employment may entail an individualization of the labour market with many workers becoming more or less independent “agents” whereas the traditional membership base of trade unions has been dependent workers. Over and above the right to organize per se, this development will affect collective rights more generally, including collective bargaining and the right to strike.
  • Article 5 ESC guarantees workers (and employers) freedom to organize, i.e. to form and join trade unions and to conduct trade union activities with full independence and autonomy and without undue interference by the state or by other private parties. Article 6 ESC, guarantees the right of workers (and employers to) bargain collectively including the right to take collective action (right to strike).
• Skills strategies in the digital revolution: how to ensure adequate and relevant initial and continuing vocational training for the labour market.
  New non-standard forms of employment often provides less opportunities for continuing vocational training (and possibly less opportunities for career development), which is an issue notably under Article 10§3 ESC. Vocational training provision should ensure not only the building of adequate new skills, but also the adaptation of existing skills to allow workers to match the evolving requirements following from the digital revolution.
  The right to vocational training pursuant to Article 10 ESC must be guaranteed to everyone. In times of economic recession, vocational training takes on added importance and priority should be given to young persons, who are particularly hit by unemployment. Article 10§3 ESC guarantees the right to training and re-training of adult workers (employed and unemployed).
• The digital revolution and social security protection
  While the digital revolution may provide substantial advantages in relation to the management and delivery of social security benefits, the non-standard forms of employment that it engenders may also pose challenges to social security systems that are still predominantly geared towards full-time workers in standard employment relationships. Gig or platform economy workers may in some cases face difficulties in accessing key benefits such as unemployment insurance, sickness pay and pensions (they may not “earn” entitlement).
  • Article 12§1 ESC guarantees the right to social security to workers and their dependents including the self-employed. States Parties must ensure this right through the existence of a social security system established by law and functioning in practice. Social security, which includes universal schemes as well as pro¬fessional ones, includes contributory, non-contributory and combined allowances related to certain risks. These are benefits granted in the event of risks which arise, but they are not intended to compensate for a potential state of need which could result from the risk itself.
• Workers’ right to privacy (at work and off work)
  The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) has referred to this issue under Article 1§2 ESC as follows:
  The emergence of new technologies which have revolutionised communications have permitted employers to organise continuous supervision of employees and in practice enabled employees to work for their employers at any time and in any place, with the result that the frontier between professional and private life has been weakened. The right to undertake work freely includes the right to be protected against interferences with the right to privacy. Under Article 1§2 individuals must be protected from interference in their private or personal lives associated with or arising from their employment situation, in particular through modern electronic communication and data collection techniques (ECSR, Conclusions 2006 and 2012, Statement of interpretation on Article 1§2 ESC).

The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Bărbulescu v. Romania (application no. 61496/08) is obviously also of relevance here.

Other sources: Robot revolution: The economics of automation

People

Focal Point

• EuroDIG Secretariat and EuroDIG Partners

Panellists

• Swedish Minister for Housing and Digital Development Peter Eriksson (Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation)
• Marco Pancini, Google
• Karoli Hindriks, Jobbatical Small and Medium Enterprise from Estonia
• Ville-Veikko Pulkka, Doctoral researcher at Helsinki University [(https://vvpulkka.net/in-english/)]
• Annette Mühlberg, verdi

Co- Moderator

• Rinalia Abdul Rahim, ICANN Board
• (tbc)

Remote Moderator Please contact the EuroDIG secretariat if you need help to find a remote moderator.

Organising Team (Org Team)

• EuroDIG Secretariat and EuroDIG Partners
• Rinalia Abdul Rahim, ICANN Board

Reporter

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