Documents worker 164 results

"This paper presents some of the key insights from the second wave of the ETUI Internet and Platform Work Survey (ETUI IPWS) conducted in 14 member states of the European Union (EU) in Spring 2021. The use of standard probability sampling allows us to estimate the proportion of internet and platform workers, and to identify their characteristics, in a way that is generalisable to the working age population. We found the prevalence of internet and platform work to be relatively similar in the analysed countries, suggesting a uniform evolution of this type of work across the EU. In particular, 17 per cent of the working age population did some internet work in the past year, 4.3 per cent did platform work and 1.1 per cent can be classified as ‘main platform workers'; that is, working 20 hours or more per week or earning more than 50 per cent of their income through platforms. Internet and platform workers differ from the offline workforce in several ways. They tend to be somewhat younger but are far from constituting a student workforce. They are better educated than those who have never done internet work and this is particularly the case for higher skill professional work. Internet work seems mainly to complement offline precarious work and serves as an extra source of income for those on less stable contracts."

"This 2023 edition of the International Journal of Labour Research (IJLR), aims to stimulate reflection on what a new social contract might entail and more specifically the role of workers' organizations in engaging in the design and establishment of a new social contract within the multilateral system and at national level. Thus, the focus of this issue is both on what such a new social contract may entail and on what to do in terms of its implementation."

"How do gig platforms prevent workers from defecting to a competitor? Drawing on 40 original interviews and survey data from 210 ride-hail drivers, the author finds that platform companies calibrate workers' exposure to market risk using gamified reward systems. These rewards protect compliant workers from changes in market conditions, raising the costs of accepting work from a competitor. Yet those who do not comply are “pushed” to the periphery, increasing their market risk. This article illustrates how platform companies can use their “visible hands” to harness and control market forces, shaping worker behavior within and across platforms."

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly discussed as an innova-tion enabler for the enhancement of circular economy (CE) approaches in industries. The further deployment of intelligent technologies is considered to be very promising particularly in remanufacturing, which can be regarded as an implementation approach of CE at a firm level. AI's potential to contribute to advancements in remanufacturing can be traced back to these modern technologies' extended capacities of supporting and assisting humans during rather manual processes which are regarded as more common in remanufacturing than in traditional linear production. As a result, we argue that in future application scenarios, humans are going to interact more often with AI agents who may direct and assist humans' behaviour and deci-sion-making processes. We assume that a better understanding of the specific dynamics and novel aspects of these kind of newly emerging human-AI systems is a key prerequisite for sustainable process innovation, particularly in remanufacturing organisations. However, empirical-based contributions about humans' beha-vioural changes in interaction with AI agents have so far been rather rare and limited, especially in the field of remanufacturing and CE. In this article, we seek to contribute to this gap in research by exploring the interaction between shop floor workers and an AI agent based on a case study research approach at a plant of a German automotive supplier that is remanufacturing used parts. We conducted semi-structured interviews among the shop floor workers who are involved in a joint decision-making task with an AI agent. We interpret the findings of our qualitative data in the light of related research in the field of AI in CE, AI implementation in organisation and human-AI interaction litera-ture. In summary, our analysis reveals 13 behavioural patterns that shop floor workers reported on referring to their interaction with the AI agent. The behavioural patterns are systemised into a cognitive, emotional and social dimension of a competence framework. These findings shall contribute to a more specific understanding about how humans interact with AI agents at work, while considering the specific context variables of the interaction paradigm and the AI agent's role during joint decision-making in a human-AI system. Implications for literature in the field of human-AI interaction as well as AI implementation in organisations with a particular focus on CE are discussed."

"Since World War II, a tradition of fighting infectious diseases had proven its worth in stopping chains of contamination and controlling diseases. Contradicting this tradition, the choices made in France regarding the COVID-19 pandemic failed to prevent deaths and protect the most exposed populations. Workers, in particular, are the victims of this failure. Based on the experience of tuberculosis control, this article shows that another strategy is not only possible, but crucial to overcome such epidemic."

"The COVID-19 crisis has had a substantial impact on the EU27 economy and triggered unprecedented policy responses across Europe and the globe. With evidence on the effects on the EU industry manifested until the beginning of 2021, this report aims to address the following key issues: (1) impact of COVID-19 on the EU economy as a whole and across sectors; (2) impact on strategic value chains; and (3) necessary recovery measures to meet the needs of the EU industry. This document was provided by the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies at the request of the committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)."

"Since the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic more than 200 countries and territories have experienced devastating public health, social, and economic effects. Among those falling ill in large numbers in the United States are workers in occupations or industries deemed “essential,” critical to maintaining services to society during the pandemic. While definitions vary, “essential workers” typically include workers in health care, food and agriculture, manufacturing, emergency response, and transportation. ..."

"Leur licenciement, au tournant du millénaire, elles l'ont reçu comme un coup de poing. Assommées. Ecoeurées. Meurtries. Elles ont alors répondu par les mots. Pendant dix ans, elles ont écrit leurs vies. Avant, les corons et l'usine. Après, l'angoisse des fins de mois et les intérims de nuit, sans jamais retrouver de CDI. Et surtout leur entraide, décisive, pour affronter cette précarité.

Comme tant d'ouvrières et d'ouvriers, leur multinationale a délocalisé. Et cette plongée dans la mondialisation, incarnée depuis une petite ville du nord de la France, acquiert une portée universelle. Elle permet de faire le lien entre l'enrichissement de quelques uns et la misère de beaucoup. Au moment où l'Europe négocie de nouvelles relations commerciales avec la Chine et les Etats-Unis qui risquent encore d'accentuer les inégalités en détruisant les dernières protections européennes...

Et si revivifier la démocratie et reconquérir l'égalité, cela passait par un rêve citoyen : sortir de l'entre-soi et opter pour l'entraide entre les classes populaires et les catégories plus aisées ? "