Op-ed: Workers’ rights should remain front and centre in competitiveness drive

As the EU turns its focus to economic performance, there is a pressing need to ensure bloc-wide workplace wellbeing, social rights and working conditions are upheld

By Li Andersson

MEP Li Andersson (The Left, FI) is chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL).

12 Nov 2024

@liandersson

Competitiveness will be one of the key priorities for the European Union during the coming mandate as we put in place structures that foster innovation and push forward the green industrial policy in Europe.  

The priority of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) will be to ensure that workplace well-being remains in focus during this transition, understanding that there can be no innovation without happy and healthy employees.  

We will continue to push for policies that strengthen the European Pillar of Social Rights, a set of 20 principles established in 2017 to ensure that legislation should have a progressive social impact that genuinely makes people's lives better.  

The European Union should work towards a stronger strategy for employment and the social dimension in member states. We must continue promoting good wages and decent working conditions, foster social dialogue and collective bargaining, and protect workers’ rights and democracy in the workplace. 

The EU should also address labour and skills shortages and promote high-quality, inclusive education and training, with a particular focus on improving basic and cross-cutting skills, especially among disadvantaged students.   

At this very moment, working life and many industries are undergoing substantial changes, some of which are yet to be fully realised. As a result, we need a new legislative framework for remote working, the right to disconnect, and the use of AI and algorithmic management in the workplace. We also need to address psychosocial risks in the workplace.  

We need to promote collective bargaining and improve working conditions for essential workers in labour-intensive and low-wage industries. Another important topic is the “vision zero” approach, which aims to prevent work-related deaths and mitigate hazards to workers posed by extreme weather caused by climate change.  

In the European elections it became clear that, in many countries, people want the EU to put a stronger emphasis on the social agenda. When thinking about the challenges we are facing related to inequality, insufficient wages, homelessness, lack of education, limited access to health services and the social effects of the climate crisis, the importance of a socially just economy is evident.  

We need to ensure that EMPL works closely with the European Commission on these aspects, especially since related competencies have been scattered across commissioner portfolios.  

Nevertheless, I’m convinced that EMPL can develop working life in a balanced way, ensure equal treatment of workers, and create a positive outlook for the future of work.