Gender pay gap, Digitalisation, Europe

Labour movement lobbying helped secure a platform work directive that should provide new rights for millions of workers across Europe. The ETUC and EPSU welcomed the outcome of lengthy negotiations and in particular the inclusion of the presumption of employment in the legislation. This means that Instead of individuals going through lengthy court action to prove they are workers, it will be up to the platforms to prove they are not employees. The directive also recognises the role of trade unions in all aspects of the platform economy, including on issues such as algorithm management. Workers

The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) has published research covering all EU member states which warns of the impact of computerised systems on work. Potential negative effects include more unpredictable, hectic and intense work rhythms, the encroachment of paid work beyond its boundaries, longer working hours and a poorer work-life balance. The report also explores the differences in terms of job demands and resources between digitalised and non-digitalised work environments in similar jobs. The ETUI says that while the digital revolution tends to be associated with various positive

In the week that the private sector employers at European level blocked an agreement and potential directive on telework and the right to disconnect, the Eurofound research agency published a report showing why action is urgently needed on this issue. Its new survey found that workers who telework are more likely to work longer than is contractually required and close to one fifth of respondents reported working additional hours because they are contacted outside of working hours. Eight out of 10 workers surveyed in companies with and without a right to disconnect policy reported that they

Research by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) shows that delays in implementing the EU’s newly passed pay transparency directive would cost women workers an average of €17,000 in lost wages. The final text of the directive was adopted by the European Parliament on 30 March. The directive includes a ban on pay secrecy clauses and the right for women workers and their unions to request transparent information on pay. The ETUC is calling on national governments to put the directive into action straight away rather than wait to the final deadline of 2026 to to transpose the directive into

The ETUC has welcomed the compromise between the European Commission, Council and Parliament on the pay transparency directive that should help to deliver equal pay. The ETUC highlights the key elements include a ban on pay secrecy clauses and the right for women workers and their unions to request transparent information on pay; gender-neutral job evaluation schemes, designed with the involvement of trade unions; and trade unions’ rights to collectively bargain to tackle pay discrimination and the undervaluation of work done by women. The ETUC believes that the measures will help to ensure

As European trade unions and employers gear up for the cross-sector negotiations on telework that are set to begin next month, the Eurofound research agency has published a new report that maps and analyses legislation and collective bargaining on telework in the 27 Member States and Norway. It covers the main differences and similarities in telework legislation and notes recent changes to these regulations. The report reveals some of the challenges of telework in relation to access, flexible working time, continuous availability/connectivity, isolation, occupational and health risk prevention

At its Executive Committee meeting in June, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) agreed a resolution setting out progress with the draft directive on improving conditions in digital labour platforms. While the directive goes some way towards meeting key ETUC demands, the Confederation is concerned to ensure that there will a presumption of employment that digital platforms will have to rebut rather than a presumption that will have to be asserted by individual workers. The first draft report in the European Parliament, published in May, supports the ETUC in this but a range of

EPSU is involved in an eight-country project (digiqualpub) that is looking at the impact of digitalisation on public services and public service workers with a focus on public administration, health and electricity. The eight countries covered are: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Spain. If you are from these countries then you can participate in the survey and encourage your members and other workers to complete the questionnaire which is available in all eight languages on the project website.

On 5 April the European Parliament (EP) voted in favour of a report on the gender pay transparency directive that includes important improvements to the European Commission’s draft proposal. There will be provisions on the protection of trade union rights for women workers, ensuring they can bargain collectively for equal pay; measures to deliver on the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and a ban on pay secrecy clauses. The ETUC thanked the rapporteurs for their work and called for the swift adoption of the improved directive by the Commission and Council. ETUC Deputy General

The European Trade Union Institute organised a conference on 24 March to discuss how collective bargaining can be used to regulate the use of algorithms at the workplace. Along with a number of European experts, there were contributions from national trade union representatives from Poland, Spain, Sweden, Italy, the UK and France. The debates included discussion of the legal frameworks and also how practically collective agreements – even existing clauses – could be used to protect workers’ rights. There were also examples of new and revised agreements that include specific provisions on

The ETUC says that, according to the European Commission’s own figures, two thirds of European workers would be excluded from coverage by the pay transparency directive. The current proposal would limit gender pay reporting to organisations with over 250 staff. The impact would be even broader in countries like Estonia and Latvia where higher percentages of workers are employed by small firms and just one in five workers would be covered by the directive. These are also two of the countries with the highest gender pay gaps. Italy (79%), Cyprus (83%) and Greece (88%) are the three countries

The ETUC says that the proposed directive on platform work should deliver rights to platform workers, like paid holiday and sick pay, which have been standard for other workers for the best part of a century. The directive provides the possibility to ensure that platform workers get a secure contract and guaranteed wages rather than the fake self-employment with no protection, no pay between jobs or sick pay. The Directive can also ensure genuinely self-employed people are protected from subordination by platforms. The ETUC is concerned, however, that following heavy lobbying by the major

An analysis by the ETUC shows that higher minimum wages across Europe could have a massive impact on the gender pay gap. The ETUC has been calling for a double threshold – 50% of the average wage/60% of the median wage – to be used in the directive on Adequate Minimum Wages. If this were in force then the gender pay gap would be cut by 25% in Romania, by 19% in Greece, by 12% in Poland, by 11% in Slovakia and by 10% in Spain and Luxembourg. The ETUC underlines that many women are trapped in underpaid and undervalued jobs and make up 76% of the 49 million care workers in the EU. The pay

A new report from the Eurofound research agency argues that social dialogue plays a critical role in digitalisation at the workplace. It says that an approach that disregards employee participation and engagement will amplify negative impacts on working conditions while in the context of technological change, social dialogue can encourage greater acceptance by employees of new technologies. Among other findings the report also warns that the Internet of Things raises the greatest concerns when used for employee performance monitoring, requiring greater safeguards to protect workers’