On Monday 14 April, the Ministers and representatives of the Social Affairs and Employment Ministers began an informal meeting in Warsaw devoted to the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment and the role of social dialogue, labour market activation policies, equality issues in the labour market and innovative policies to support family responsibilities.
The meeting will continue on 15 April. On her arrival, the Polish Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, said that the discussion would cover “technological challenges, the impact of artificial intelligence and digital technologies on the labour market and on employment conditions, as well as issues relating to family policy and social policy, including issues relating to long-term care. Social integration, integration, including in terms of migrants, the challenges facing Poland today are not very different from those facing other EU countries”. The Minister also invited a Ukrainian delegation to take part in the discussions.
Among the social partners present in Warsaw, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Esther Lynch, intended to tell the EU27 that “workers want to be involved in the discussions about AI in the workplace. They want their trade unions to be involved in the discussions. AI at work is essential. Innovation is essential to being competitive. We need trade unions and workers to be involved in discussions on AI in the workplace. It’s the only way to make it fair”, she said as she arrived. The ETUC is also calling for a European Directive guaranteeing that workers and their trade unions will be involved in the safe implementation of AI.
For employers and BusinessEurope, “it is essential in these times to be able to face the challenges, but at the same time make sure that we create the basis for the prosperity of our societies and we maintain the European social model. Also, in the face of ageing of our populations, it is now very essential that we are able to progress. At the same time in terms of increasing productivity growth where we’ve been weaker over the last decades, but also having more people in employment. We need to optimise innovation and make the best possible use of our talents across Europe”, said Maxime Cerutti, Director of Social Affairs at the organisation.
With regard to digital change and algorithms in the world of work, as well as the development of social dialogue and employees’ right to information, the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU is starting from the premise that, while the use of AI brings many benefits to workers and employers alike, it can also pose challenges such as the opacity of algorithms and lack of transparency, excessive surveillance and control of workers through AI, and the erosion of collective rights. The Presidency asked participants how they assess the level of protection of employees’ rights to information and consultation on the use of AI at work in EU law, and what the major challenges are.
As for the discussion on the policy of active integration into the labour market, this was to focus more specifically on the challenge of effectively integrating migrants who legally reside on their territory.
Here, Poland wants to promote its integration policy based on the gradual acquisition of the Polish language, values and social norms. In particular, the discussion should address the issues of regularisation of residence and access to long-term residence, with a system of incentives for people who contribute to the development of the host country and mechanisms to eliminate abuses.
On this point, the Presidency was to ask Member States how to reconcile effective migration procedures with concerns for social and national cohesion, and to explore the role of employers and businesses in integrating migrants into the labour market. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)