The Future of Work - Towards a progressive agenda for all
Heinz Koller, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, participated in the opening panel discussion during a conference on the Future of Work organized by the European Policy Centre (EPC).
9 December 2019
Mr Koller reflected on the mega drivers of change in the world of work, such as technological advances, globalisation, demographic trends and climate change, and on the disruptions they are causing to the labour market and to people’s lives.
"We all want to know what will happen tomorrow to our jobs, our skills, and whether or not we will receive a decent pension,” he said.
Digitalisation is not only likely to partly destroy jobs. It is already changing the content and nature of work by making it faster, more mobile and often more precarious.
At the same time, the fourth revolution also brings huge job opportunities, for example in the care economy, due to population ageing. The ILO considers that achieving the 2 degree target of the Paris Agreement could generate 24 million new jobs by 2030 – of which 2 million in Europe, mainly in construction, manufacturing and renewables.
The EU Green deal and the digital agenda of the European Commission carry the potential for the creation of decent jobs.
“In order to avoid a dehumanisation of the world of work, we need social justice and more social dialogue,” said the Assistant Director-General.
Europe has seen a rapid degradation of collective bargaining and social dialogue as a whole over the last decades. Yet, experience shows that countries with strong social dialogue are also among the world champions of competitiveness – from Switzerland to Singapore.
The EU member states can strengthen social dialogue in several ways, said Mr Koller.
First, they must succeed in transforming social dialogue into a more HR-oriented tool in line with the “human-in-command” approach. Human resources management will be key to implement sane technological strategies, and the capacity to mobilize the workforce as a whole is a new opportunity for social dialogue to create synergies, incentivize workers, and help each company to establish a collective framework towards a decent working environment.
Second, social dialogue has to embrace innovation in all its dimensions. It must address new needs and provide new services, which means integrating new communication technologies and getting closer to beneficiaries; showing its relevance to all, including young workers, remote workers, workers in services, highly skilled workers, etc.
Finally, an efficient social dialogue can only rely on a peaceful society. Peaceful societies are performing better in terms of overall productivity.
"We all want to know what will happen tomorrow to our jobs, our skills, and whether or not we will receive a decent pension,” he said.
Digitalisation is not only likely to partly destroy jobs. It is already changing the content and nature of work by making it faster, more mobile and often more precarious.
At the same time, the fourth revolution also brings huge job opportunities, for example in the care economy, due to population ageing. The ILO considers that achieving the 2 degree target of the Paris Agreement could generate 24 million new jobs by 2030 – of which 2 million in Europe, mainly in construction, manufacturing and renewables.
The EU Green deal and the digital agenda of the European Commission carry the potential for the creation of decent jobs.
“In order to avoid a dehumanisation of the world of work, we need social justice and more social dialogue,” said the Assistant Director-General.
Europe has seen a rapid degradation of collective bargaining and social dialogue as a whole over the last decades. Yet, experience shows that countries with strong social dialogue are also among the world champions of competitiveness – from Switzerland to Singapore.
The EU member states can strengthen social dialogue in several ways, said Mr Koller.
First, they must succeed in transforming social dialogue into a more HR-oriented tool in line with the “human-in-command” approach. Human resources management will be key to implement sane technological strategies, and the capacity to mobilize the workforce as a whole is a new opportunity for social dialogue to create synergies, incentivize workers, and help each company to establish a collective framework towards a decent working environment.
Second, social dialogue has to embrace innovation in all its dimensions. It must address new needs and provide new services, which means integrating new communication technologies and getting closer to beneficiaries; showing its relevance to all, including young workers, remote workers, workers in services, highly skilled workers, etc.
Finally, an efficient social dialogue can only rely on a peaceful society. Peaceful societies are performing better in terms of overall productivity.