Trade unions urged to leverage on technology
Trade unions have been urged to take advantage of digital technologies which have ushered in profound changes in the organisation of work and employment.
Researchers at the International Labour Organisation ( ILO) have stated in a journal that the technology- mediated matching of labour supply and demand has created online labour markets where jobs across different skill levels are divided into assignments, ranging from micro- tasks to larger gigs, and then commissioned virtually to workers who are often considered to be independent contractors.
According to the International Journal of Labour Research titled, Trade Union Revitalization: Organizing new forms of work including platform workers, the digital labour platforms are at the forefront of these changes.
The article presents a non- exhaustive review of recent forms of organising and mobilising platform workers, with the objective of mapping current variations in trade union strategies towards technological change and analytically distinguishing emerging patterns in representation forms among the platform workforce.
It also examines the changing dynamics of the employment relationship in the digital economy and its implications for the continuous adaptation of freedom of association and protection of the workers’ right to organise.
The analysis is informed by interviews with trade unions in six focus countries, selected to represent different legal jurisdictions and demographics.
Researchers have pointed out that as all of the trade unions interviewed worked mostly with workers on digital labour platforms, and in particular delivery and travel- related platforms, the paper focuses on how trade unions are overcoming the challenges created in organising and protecting these workers.
The 2022 edition of the International Journal of Labour Research comes at a critical time, marked both by multidimensional crises affecting many countries around the world and by a surge in the attraction and influence of trade unions in responding to these crises.
ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities ( ACTRAV) Director, Maria Helena Andre says after the long marathon of the response to the COVID- 19 pandemic, the consequences are still being felt in the world of work.
She said in addition, geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts, climate change and natural disasters, energy, food and financial crises continue to exacerbate inequalities and violations of workers’ and trade union rights around the world.