Digitalisation has the potential to positively transform public services and the jobs of public service workers. Quicker and easier access to services and increased participation of citizens can be combined with better quality jobs as repetitive work is replaced with more fulfilling tasks. However, trade unions must be involved in the transformation process not just to ensure that workers have their fare share of the benefits of digitalisation but also to deal with the potential downside. This briefing, produced for EPSU's 2019 Congress, highlights some of the work done on this issue in recent years and sets out the current priorities.
On Monday, 5th June, EPSU and 40 other European organisations launched a civil society statement focused on democratic digital infrastructures which proposes the establishment of a European Public Digital Infrastructure Fund.
EPSU’s global sister organisation PSI will be launching its Digital Bargaining Hub on 26 April (15.00-16.15 CET). This will be the first online, free, publicly accessible, searchable database of bargaining clauses, union guidance, and framework agreements on issues related to digitalisation. During this event PSI will provide a guided, virtual tour of the Digital Bargaining Hub and will also review other resources that can be found on its Digitalisation webpage. These include a series of reports full of information to help improve the understanding of digitalisation and its effects on workers
EPSU is part of a project – Our digital future – run by PSI which is offering training on digitalisation and collective bargaining in three afternoon sessions on 26 January and 2 and 9 February. The sessions will cover new tools developed as part of the project including a digital bargaining hub with information from collective agreements, a guide to negotiating data rights and an online tool on co-governing algorithmic systems. EPSU and PSI affiliates can register here before 5 January 2023. For further information contact Richard Pond - [email protected]. The ETUI and ETUC are also organising a
On Thursday, 6 October the EU social partners for central governments, TUNED for the trade union side and EUPAE for the employers, signed a new agreement on digitalisation with the participation of the European Commission.
