New studies show 42 per cent of trade unions are already negotiating on AI and algorithmic management across service economy

Today, on 15 March 2024, UNI Europa, the European Services Workers’ Union, and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Competence Centre for the Future of Work have released new studies and a database, detailing how trade unions are responding to the spread of AI and algorithmic management (AAMS) in the service economy.

An original survey of 148 trade union representatives affiliated to UNI Europa in 32 countries shows that 42 per cent of the trade unions are conducting bargaining on AI. One fifth report already having a collective agreement that addresses AI-related issues. With the increasing use of technology at the workplace, it can be expected that collective bargaining on AI will become increasingly important in the next years.

Those who already bargain on AI view the largest impact of AI to be on working time (e.g. the right to disconnect) (27 per cent), training for the staff on new AI tools (22 per cent) and workload and work intensity (22 per cent). The researchers identified examples from Italy, Germany, Norway and Spain providing more detailed rules and arrangements on the right to disconnect, digital rights of the workers at the workplace, information-sharing and business control.

The studies are released as EU leaders agreed on the final text of the EU Platform Workers Directive this week, which includes a chapter on regulating algorithmic management, and the European Parliament gave final approval to the AI Act at a vote on Wednesday.

UNI Europa Regional Secretary, Oliver Roethig, said: “Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Management have a huge impact across the economy, and for workers in the services sectors especially. The EU’s Platform Directive and AI Act are a step in the right direction. The next European Commission must now deliver an AI Act for the workplace. Workers need to be able to have a real say about how technology is introduced at work – through stronger collective bargaining and a worker-centred regulatory environment.”

Director of FES Competence Centre for the Future of Work, Tobias Mörschel, said: “It is crucial for worker representatives and trade unions to actively engage in all stages of the introduction of new technologies by employers to the workplace. The studies and database released today allow trade unions to learn from best practices.”

In late 2022, Artificial Intelligence (AI) entered the public arena and collective awareness with a bang in the guise of ChatGPT, a chat-based form of AI systems that became available for anybody and everybody to use for the first time. However, this high-profile public appearance of AI tends to conceal the fact that AAMS are proliferating at speed throughout the European service sector.

Far beyond the platform economy, AAMS is becoming prevalent in ‘ordinary’ workplaces such as offices, restaurants, and contact centres. They are deployed at every stage of the employee lifecycle, including recruitment and hiring, training and development, task allocation and scheduling, and performance management and productivity-tracking.

Find the studies and the database below:

• Collective Bargaining Practices on AI and Algorithmic Management in European Services Sectors (English)
• Collective Bargaining Practices on AI and Algorithmic Management in European Services Sectors (German)
• AI and Algorithmic Management in European Services Sectors: Prevalence, functions, and a guide for negotiators
• AI and Algorithmic Management in European Services Sectors: Prevalence, functions, and a guide for negotiators (German)
• A database of AI and algorithmic management in collective bargaining agreements