International Labour and Employment Relations Association

The rise in telework: Impact on working conditions and regulation

By Eurofound

 
Even after the end of COVID-19 restrictions across EU Member States, many workers continue to telework in some form. Employers and employees have adapted to telework arrangements, which is mainly due to the reduction of cultural, technological and social barriers. Telework is now well established and affects overall work organization and working conditions, as well as employees’ work–life balance and well-being. New regulations on telework across EU Member States, together with agreements between workers and employers as well as company level practices, are shaping the future of remote working.
This report explores recent trends in the prevalence of telework, the working conditions of employees who were teleworking during the pandemic and telework regulations in the EU. It also identifies challenges and opportunities for the future.
The report is mainly based on contributions from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents, and analyses of the EU Labour Force Survey 2020 and the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) 2021. These are complemented by literature reviews and findings from Eurofound’s Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey.

 Regulating Algorithms at Work: Lessons for a ‘European Approach to Artificial Intelligence’

By Jeremias Adams-Prassl

 
This article scrutinises the potential of the existing regulatory apparatus in Union law to tackle the social, technical, and legal challenges inherent in deploying automated systems in high-risk settings such as the workplace, with a view to setting out key lessons for the proposed EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Surveying data protection and discrimination rules as well as the social acquis, it highlights key areas for further development, from coherence between different regulatory regimes to the role of social partnership in shaping key standards and monitoring their implementation.

La regulación del Teletrabajo en la Negociación Colectiva: la experiencia uruguaya en el sector privado1

By Joaquín Perrone Ramos

 

(Translated by Google) As in almost all countries, telecommuting is a mechanism used in Uruguay to prevent Covid-19 during the period of social distancing without completely shutting down the economy and Labour market. This has prompted the adoption of Law 19.978 and Decree 86/022 to regulate teleworking in general. In our view, this regulatory framework does not take into account collective bargaining and transfers the different elements that define working relationships to the individual level. In this paper, we will analyze the importance of collective bargaining in the regulation of remote work (and new forms of work organization), and especially discuss our country's experience in this field.

(Source:
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=8825897) 

 

 

Events

LERA 75th Annual Meeting
1-4 June 2023
Detroit, Michigan

Plan now to attend the LERA 75th Annual Meeting, June 1–4, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan! The program will feature four days of intense learning and skill building at over 80 workshops, sessions, and more than 350 diverse presenters from every community focused on “the world of work.” All participants and attendees must register, including speakers and discussants (chairs, panelists, presenters, speakers, discussants, etc.). The early bird registration deadline is March 25, 2023.

Online registration will be open through May 26, 2023. 

11TH Regional Congress of the Americas ILERA
25-27 July 2023
Bogota, Colombia

Comprehensive Employment: A Holistic Understanding of the Worker 

MEPs at the European Parliament Voted on Measures to Improve Conditions for Workers on Digital Labor Platforms, Particularly on Their Employment Status and Automated Systems Monitoring Their Work

The Employment Committee adopted on 12 December 2022 a draft negotiating mandate on new rules to improve the working conditions in platform work. They would regulate how to correctly determine the employment status of platform workers and how digital labour platforms should use algorithms and artificial intelligence to monitor and evaluate workers.
Employment status:
MEPs agreed that the employment status defined by the platform can be challenged by the worker, a trade union or a national authority, in which case the worker is presumed by law to be employed. In the event of a dispute between the platform and a worker, the platform - rather than the worker- would have the responsibility to prove that they do not employ the worker.
MEPs also introduced a list of non-mandatory criteria to determine a worker’s employment status, such as a set salary, defined time schedule and working time, rating systems, tracking or supervision of a worker, rules regarding appearance or conduct, restricted options to work for any third party or restricted freedom to choose accident insurance or a pension scheme.
Algorithmic management:
MEPs made algorithmic management more transparent by obliging platforms to give information to workers on how the monitoring is being used and how it affects their employment relationship, health, safety and working conditions as well as on terminating accounts, promotion or task allocation. Platforms will be also obliged to assess the impact of decisions taken or supported by automated monitoring and decision-making systems on working conditions, health and safety and fundamental rights.
MEPs also introduced provisions to step up the exchange of information between competent labour, social protection and tax authorities in cross-border cases and dissuasive penalties.

(Source: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20221212IPR64513/digital-workers-better-working-conditions-and-protection-of-rights)

Psychological contract breach during the pandemic: How an abrupt transition to a work from home schedule impacted the employment relationship

Organizations shifted employees to a work from home schedule as a protective health measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper depicts the path through which the abrupt workplace disruptions can trigger employees’ perceptions of felt mistrust, intensify work to life conflict, and cause a psychological contract breach. In study 1, we conducted an experiment with 133 college students and found that switching to a work from home schedule with enhanced supervisor control increased the psychological contract breach through felt mistrust. In Study 2, we surveyed 239 adults who worked from home during the pandemic. Results underline the role of work to life conflict as a mediator through which disruptions and felt mistrust influenced the breach of psychological contract. Further, coping strategies were found to mitigate this detrimental effect. Overall, our findings suggest that sudden shifts in management practices can challenge workplace relationships during environmental shocks.


(Source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.08.023)

The editor in chief for this edition of the ILERA Newsletter is Weiguo Yang
 
 
Member of  Executive Committee of ILERA (Asia), Professor of Labour and Employment Relations at Renmin University of China’s School of Labour and Human Resources, Professor of Labour Studies at University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Vice President of China Association for Labour Studies.
 
 
 
Contact: weiguoyang@ruc.edu.cn
New Books

Women and work in Asia and the Pacific: Experiences, Challenges and Ways Forward

By Jane Parker, Marian Baird, Noelle Donnelly and Rae Cooper

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