Digitalisation of the economy and its impact on labour markets —

<strong>Digitalisation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>economy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>its</strong> <strong>impact</strong> on labour markets
4. New research paths: placing <strong>the</strong> digital revolution
in <strong>the</strong> service <strong>of</strong> trade unionism?
We have seen above that some social movement or trade union organisations
have succeeded in using <strong>the</strong> new technologies in <strong>the</strong> interests <strong>of</strong> workers, in
<strong>the</strong> defence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir rights, <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir organisation <strong>and</strong>, perhaps in <strong>the</strong> future, <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong>ir collective bargaining power.
An additional strategic reflection could follow on from this. The trade union
movement could perhaps discover in <strong>the</strong>se new technologies an additional tool
for exchange, cooperation, mobilisation, action, visibility, etc. Might it be
relevant to consider a European trade union platform that would enable <strong>the</strong>
exchange <strong>of</strong> information in real time – for example on labour claims <strong>and</strong>
industrial action, on pay developments within multinationals, on negotiations
underway, on collective action in preparation, etc. – with a view to better
information <strong>of</strong> workers <strong>and</strong> increased synchronisation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir strategies?
What is more, we have seen in this study that some authors see in <strong>the</strong> new
technologies a strong potential for social emancipation. Would <strong>the</strong> world <strong>of</strong>
labour benefit from investing in <strong>the</strong>se technologies in order to create new
collective tools, for example for <strong>the</strong> evaluation <strong>of</strong> employers, for <strong>the</strong>
coordination <strong>of</strong> negotiations, but also for <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> data cooperatives <strong>and</strong>
collective platforms generating common goods, for <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> incubators
or accelerators with a view to a cooperative, social <strong>and</strong> solidaristic <strong>economy</strong>?
WP 2016.02
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