Digitalisation of the economy and its impact on labour markets —

Christophe Degryse
According to IG Metall, this 4.0 industry remains very much <strong>of</strong> a black box.
<strong>Digitalisation</strong>, it states, will indeed change <strong>the</strong> world, but in what directions
remains highly uncertain 40 . Many important social aspects have to be clarified
(work organisation, training <strong>and</strong> skills, data security, working conditions, etc.).
IG Metall, accordingly, has decided to define <strong>its</strong> own priorities 41 which may be
summed up as follows:
Guaranteeing workers’ social rights in <strong>the</strong> digital world:
— develop new forms <strong>of</strong> codetermination for <strong>the</strong> digital world, adapt <strong>and</strong>
enhance codetermination rights;
— develop <strong>and</strong> implement comprehensive mobile working regulations;
— establish participation <strong>and</strong> protection rights for crowdworkers;
— enhance employee data protection.
Actively shaping technology <strong>and</strong> work organisation design:
— develop participatory company-level approach based on vision <strong>of</strong>
humanely designed digital workplace;
— develop competencies <strong>of</strong> part- <strong>and</strong> full-time <strong>of</strong>ficials;
— encourage public debate, influence research policy;
— continue to develop occupational health <strong>and</strong> safety st<strong>and</strong>ards.
Participation in <strong>the</strong> digital work environment – equal opportunities for all
employees:
— Training <strong>and</strong> CPD should become core strategic issues:
– IG Metall should promote a visible <strong>and</strong> appropriate training policy
publicly <strong>and</strong> at <strong>the</strong> collective bargaining table;
– more active efforts should be made to promote training at company
level.
— Use <strong>of</strong> new ICT workplace learning methods <strong>and</strong> certification <strong>of</strong> skills
acquired in <strong>the</strong> workplace.
In April 2015 IG Metall set up an advisory body on <strong>the</strong> future <strong>of</strong> work (Beirat
‘Zukunft der Arbeit’ 42 ) composed <strong>of</strong> experts from business, academia <strong>and</strong>
politics. The council is to meet twice a year, <strong>its</strong> task being to examine <strong>and</strong>
identify at an early stage <strong>the</strong> changes taking place in <strong>the</strong> world <strong>of</strong> labour, so as
to be in a position to devise options <strong>and</strong> seek answers to <strong>the</strong> key questions on
<strong>the</strong> future <strong>of</strong> jobs. This is one way <strong>of</strong> providing practical accompaniment to <strong>the</strong>
initiative <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> employment <strong>and</strong> social affairs ministry in favour <strong>of</strong> quality
employment in industry 4.0.
With regard to crowdworkers – <strong>and</strong> by way <strong>of</strong> response to <strong>the</strong> employer
federations that consider that <strong>the</strong>se workers should not be subject to an excess
40. https://www.igmetall.de/plattform-industrie-4-0-16050.htm
41. ‘The Digital Transformation <strong>of</strong> Industrial Work’, Zukunft der Arbeit (ZdA), IG Metall, 2015.
42. https://www.igmetall.de/pressemitteilungen-2015-16019.htm
56 WP 2016.02