The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, opened the door, on Thursday 25 May, to possible future legislation on artificial intelligence and its application to the world of work.
Speaking in Berlin at the 50th anniversary of the European Trade Union Confederation, the President, who paid tribute to European trade unions and their day-to-day work on the ground, thanks to which “the EU has the highest social standards”, addressed the key texts of her mandate, in particular the directive on platform workers, once again rejected by the Member States on 24 May (see EUROPE 13187/23).
Pointing out that no algorithm should be able to dismiss a worker and that human supervision must always be involved, the President said that her institution was “looking closely at the possibility of regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the world of work”.
Mrs von der Leyen also stressed the need to offer employment and training opportunities to all Europeans, especially young people, who represent “enormous potential in which we must invest”, and women who want to have children and must not be penalised on the labour market.
The President was applauded loudly for her advocating equal pay. “There is not a single argument why – for the same type of work – a woman should get paid less than a man. Not a single argument, not a single one”.
Ms von der Leyen also said that “living from one’s work” should be “a basic principle of our social market economy”, calling for the fight against in-work poverty.
Platforms
On 24 May, Spain took a stance against the Swedish Presidency’s latest text and, according to several sources, is expected to put forward new proposals to improve the text on the principle of presumption of salaried status.
According to several sources, it is not out of the question for the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU to seek the opinions of the Member States again next week. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)