Quality Jobs must be underpinned by legislation

As part of the formation of the Quality Jobs Roadmap, Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu has undertaken a number of hearings with social partners on both a European and national level, hoping to understand the priorities for a wide range of stakeholders.

Eurocadres have taken part in all European Commission’s hearings, with the latest (Monday, May 5^th) presenting another opportunity to outline where professionals and managers need to see action through this work stream.

We expect the roadmap to be divided into four sections; quality working conditions, the digital workplace, skills and supporting working conditions. While all of these require specific and tailored actions, we believe that the roadmap, at a minimum, must be underpinned by three legislative requests:

• A directive on work-related psychosocial risks
• A directive on algorithmic management
• Delivery of legislation on telework and the right to disconnect

Not a complete set of demands, but the above would go a long way to helping professionals and managers throughout Member States.

Our work towards these actions continues to develop, particularly with our participation in the Advisory Committee for Safety and Health for psychosocial risks. The reality remains that Europe cannot increase its competitiveness while sickness and absenteeism rates remain as high as they are currently. Acting after workers have become ill and need treatment is a tactic that any healthcare or academic expert would tell you is destined to fail.

Primary prevention is the only way to tackle this epidemic and give both workers and employers clear guidance on their rights and responsibilities.

Given many Member States have legislation on this, simplification for companies and workers is crucial to harmonising standards and procedures in Europe. The strategic framework adopted during the previous mandate is a good start but will only be useful if followed up with legislation.

In a similar manner, companies are now dealing with employees across various working categories, with different responsibilities relating to the use of algorithms if they are engaged in platform work or not.

Professionals and managers are often the ones dealing with the rollout and usage of AI systems and overwhelmingly ask for simplification of their tasks through harmonisation of existing rules on algorithmic management to all categories of workers, not just platform workers. We would expect, at a minimum, that the provisions guaranteed in the platform work directive are extended to all workers.

AI usage has only increased since the beginning of the mandate, with workers begging for clear governance rules and training regimes, underwritten by European law.

This is not just a trade union opinion, two weeks ago JP Morgan released an open letter outlining a 300% increase in security vulnerabilities since mass AI adoption, a lack of understanding and an omission of correct protocols for AI usage. Worryingly, the letter notes that the financial sector is particularly at risk – with trillions of dollars at stake, while saying that "We're seeing organisations deploy systems they fundamentally don't understand" and 78% of enterprise AI deployments lack proper security protocols. When we are agreeing with JPMorgan on regulatory issues, you know a huge problem is coming.

Investment and an emphasis on speed in system rollout won’t deliver competitiveness in the long term if usage provides American systems with critical security data, increases immediate reliance on them in the workplace and leaves liability questions due to a lack of regulatory oversight.

We are also still awaiting the next steps towards a proposal on telework and the right to disconnect, which continues to be a huge element of modern working life. Where social partners failed to secure a text, the Commission must act to deliver.

The content of the roadmap can be expected in Q4 of this year, before which we will continue to advocate through all available forums for action.