How might the climate emergency shape future employment law and practice? There are close connections between the world of work and the duty to fight climate change, that will drive change across the world, seeking for a more sustainable approach to business.
The Randstad Workmonitor is a global survey launched in 2003. Published twice a year, it covers now 34 markets around the world and highlights local and global trends in the job market.
The latest research shows that workers around the world are finding themselves part of the 'Great Enlightenment' as they have gained more clarity about their work and personal lives.
A new workplace after the Covid-19 pandemic: what issues do new ways of working raise and how can employers address them?
Ius Laboris employment lawyers from all around the world prepared 40 questions and answers on eight main topics: Vaccination, Health & Safety, Working time, Expenses, Labour relations, Remote investigations, Working abroad and Ethical investments.
It includes a Communication, setting out the EU approach and measures on platform work, a proposal for a Directive and a Draft Guidelines on how EU competition applies to attempts by self-employed gig economy actors to bargain collectively.
The second segment of the 109th Session of the ILO International Labour Conference took place from 25 November to 11 December 2021 (the first segment was held from 3 to 19 June, as we reported in our article). Two General Discussions, on inequalities and skills, were on the agenda.
ILO Constituents reiterated the need to develop new strategies to reduce inequalities and boost skills and life-long learning.
It imposes specific cybersecurity requirements to large European-based companies, relating to incident response, supply chain security, encryption and vulnerability disclosure obligations, aiming to establish better cooperation and information sharing between EU Member States, and create a common European vulnerability database.
The well-regulated agency work model facilitates the flexibility of and access to a diverse jobs market, enabling individuals to enjoy genuine independent or self-employed status without compromising their social rights and employment protections
For these reasons, agency work can be a leading model for the platform work economy.
On 16 September 2021, the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on “Fair working conditions, rights and social protection for platform workers — New forms of employment linked to digital development.”
The report highlights the legal uncertainty around the term ‘worker’ and ‘self-employed’ and calls for a reversal of the burden of proof for workers claiming employment status, pleading for a minimum set of rights for platform workers regardless of their employment status.
The research report has been produced in the context of a project entitled ‘The definition of worker in the platform economy’ (CES/FSA/09/2020) commissioned by the workers’ group of the European Economic and Social Committee.
The final report aims to contribute to the debate on platform workers’ risk and regulatory solutions.
New Ways of Working is a new comparative reference tool developed by International Employment Lawyer,providing information on key employment and compliance topics (such as vaccinations, legislation on remote work and social relations) in 20 countries around the world.
It enables multinational employers to compare different legal systems and their approach to the pandemic and new ways of working that recently developed.
What does the future of work hold and what transformations await us? It is with the aim of answering this question that the Adecco Group in 2020 has carried out the study "Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work".
The survey aims to determine changes in the expectations and attitudes of managers and workers on the future of work.
On 2 September 2021, the Adecco Group released the second edition of the global study, "Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work 2021."
From 6 to 8 September 2021, the World Employment Conference held its first online event with more than 300 participants from all over the world.
More than 70 speakers spoke on the developments transforming labour markets and covered topics such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, career guidance, hybrid workplaces, skilling or diversity and inclusion.
On 25 August 2021, Sierra Leone ratified eight ILO Conventions and one Protocol, bringing to the total number of 44 of ratified instruments on forced labour, domestic workers, safety and health, migrant workers and labour administration.
These nine instruments will enter into force on 25 August 2022.
It was a significant move towards recognizing, promoting and implementing decent work for women and men in the country.
G20 Labour Ministerial meeting took place in Sicily on 23 June 2021 and focused on three main areas: more, better, and equally paid jobs for women; social protection systems in a changing world of work; and working patterns, business organisation and production process in the digitalisation era.
The B20, the Business at OECD (BIAC) and the IOE have published a joint paper calling on G20 leaders to promote and facilitate access to trade finance to boost the economic recovery post COVID19 pandemic.
Many EU Member States such as Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain, have yet to publish a draft legislation to implement the EU Whistleblowing Directive
A minority of Member States have progressed with implementation including the Czech Republic, Finland, Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, with some differences in their approach
Member States must implement the Whistleblowing Directive by 17 December 2021.
The Resolution contains an agreement on concrete guidance to support the sustainability of social protection systems as an underlying condition to realise universal social protection.
The Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) discussed, among other topics, the Committee of Experts on the application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) 2020 General Survey and its Addendum.
Based on this discussion, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Constituents adopted an outcome that shed light, among other points, on the private sector as the principal source of economic growth and job creation, the need to promote an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprises, and the role of sustainable enterprises as generators of employment and promoters of innovation and decent work.
The 2021 ILC will first discuss topics such as the impact of Covid-19 on the world of work and the ILO’s response, social protection and the application of international Labour Standards.
A second part of the Conference to be held in November 2021 will discuss the topics of inequalities and skills.
The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) has contributed a publication for an international comparative guide.
The chapter provides an overview of the development of International Labour Standards (ILS), including the processes of standard-setting, ratification, and supervisory procedures at the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
At the end of the GFMD 2021 Summit, the winner of the IOE-Seedstars Migration challenge was proclaimed: it is the tech start-up DignifAI, providing concrete support to the employment of migrant population in the Colombian-Venezuelan and Brazilian-Venezuelan borders.
A new migration challenge for 2022 was just launched
The European Commission started consulting social partners with a view to possibly undertake action “to address the challenges related to working conditions in the platform work”.
The World Employment Confederation-Europe and BUSINESSEUROPE submitted their views and asked the EU Commission to refrain from using a one-size-fits all approach to regulation of platform work at the EU level.
The GFMD 2021 Summit dealt with the topic of “The future of human mobility: innovative partnerships for sustainable development”
The representative of employers, the Business Advisory Group on Migration, presented a series of six recommendations, including enhanced public-private cooperation, improved legal pathways for employment and better leveraging of technology
The database on up-to-2020 collective bargaining processes for wage-setting and minimum wages on 56 OECD/non- OECD countries was released
The database provides comparable data on trade union and employers’ organisations density as well as on the role played by these actors in each collective bargaining system
In February 2021, the European Labour Authority (ELA) announced to be fully operational to conduct concerted and joint labour inspections
A set of simplified standard procedures for national authorities and social partners on how to initiate and follow-up cross-border inspections was issued
Based on four drivers (informality, private sector growth, creating opportunities and digital transformation), the report puts forward a series of policy recommendations for sustained job recovery
The International Labour Organisation, Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ACT/EMP) recently released a publication on the role played by the employers and business membership organizations (EBMOs) in the Covid-19 pandemic where EBMOs have demonstrated agility, resilience and the ability to innovate.
It also focuses on the way ahead and the services EBMOs will have to reinforce and ideas for concrete actions.
IOE responds to the recently published ILO World Employment and Social Outlook Report by underlying that digital platforms are important contributors to fostering innovation, reducing unemployment and alleviating poverty.
This and other topics will be the subject of a Discussion Forum on 11 March 2021
On 1st December 2020, Italy took over the G20 Presidency
This highly challenging period will require a lot of efforts from all G20 members to deliver an inclusive and resilient recovery
The IOE, together with 13 international business and labour organisations, have signed a joint letter to G20 governments calling to ensure that “building back better” is not just a mantra but materialises into concrete positive outcomes
The Centennial of the IOE was celebrated through several virtual centenary-related events, culminated with the General Council of the 24 November 2020.
Throughout the discussion participants reflected on the past, present and future of IOE.
The International Labour Organization – Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ILO-ACT/EMP) has recently published the outcome of a global survey conducted in cooperation with Employer and Business Membership Organizations (EBMOs).
The report allows a better understanding about the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on enterprise activities.
The resolution urges ILO Member States to engage in collaborative actions to identify obstacles to crew changes, and establish time-bound plans to solve this situation
In order to facilitate the movement of workers, the resolution suggests to designate seafarers as “key workers”.
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