News

This 14 October, the French affiliates of Eurocadres (the European cross-sectoral social partners with almost six million P&Ms) and UNI Europa held a conference in Paris discussing the impact of digitalisation on the work of professionals and managers.

Digital change is transforming our economies and use of resources but it is also challenging the future of work. The new forms of digital work that are appearing and expanding all impact on professionals and managers.

From online platforms to bogus self-employment, the scale of competition will become truly global. Future jobs are likely to require knowledge or skills that are not offered by today’s education or training systems, while other jobs that are commonplace today will disappear completely.

Since a lot of labour power will be substituted by robots, or artificial intelligence, markets and economies will be challenged, raising critical questions about how to ensure the demand side of economies stays strong.

For trade unions there are clear challenges that need to be addressed as Pav Akhtar, Director of UNI Global Union Professionals and Managers, outlined in Paris: ‘European social protection law needs to be urgently updated as it is not set up to deal with the digital economy. It uses an outdated distinction between employed and self-employed workers meaning the latter have no rights to unemployment insurance, paternity or maternity cover, pensions, or holidays.’

In addition, unions trying to organise (bogus) self-employed workers actually run the risk of being charged for building cartels under the EU anti-competition law as is.

‘We mustn’t stand by, idly watching the impact digitalisation will have on working people. Strong trade unions as the most effective collective voice of working people have to develop a digital agenda with strategies that can organise professionals and managers. One that can collectively negotiate good working conditions and advocate coherent policies that will ensure prosperous enterprises and strong societies, with due regard for the social contract of work’, concluded Akhtar.

Find out more about UNI Professionals and Managers’ Group and its strategy to negotiate to win in digitalised workplaces here

Read the Eurocadres publication ‘Judicious use of ICT’ (available in 5 languages).