Nordic Conference On Future Of Work Towards The Ilo Centenary

In connection to the 100th anniversary of the ILO in 2019, the Nordic Council of Ministers arranged a conference to debate the future of work in the Nordics. The event was held on the 4th-5th of April in Reykjavik and was the last in a series of four annual conferences. The debates centered on the changing labour market and whether the Nordic model will be able to adapt to this. The conference lasted two days, each with a particular theme: 1) Future of Work – where the future of the Nordic model was discussed 2) Gender Equality – where the debate revolved around the challenges and solutions regarding the inequalities between men and women on the labour market. The programme included perspectives from all the Nordic countries, as well as from international organisations such as the ILO and the OECD, international companies, Nordic labour market authorities, social partners and companies.

In connection to the 100th anniversary of the ILO in 2019, the Nordic Council of Ministers arranged a conference to debate the future of work in the Nordics. The event was held on the 4th-5th of April in Reykjavik and was the last in a series of four annual conferences. The debates centered on the changing labour market and whether the Nordic model will be able to adapt to this. The conference lasted two days, each with a particular theme: 1) Future of Work - where the future of the Nordic model was discussed 2) Gender Equality - where the debate revolved around the challenges and solutions regarding the inequalities between men and women on the labour market. The programme included perspectives from all the Nordic countries, as well as from international organisations such as the ILO and the OECD, international companies, Nordic labour market authorities, social partners and companies.

In the runup to the ILO's 100th anniversary in 2019, the ILO asked the Nordic countries to contribute to the debate about how the future of work can be shaped. the Stockholm conference gathered more than 120 participants, and was number three out of four annual Nordic conferences. The debate was divided into four main themes: 1) How will the technological developments affect the Labour market? 2) How are the Nordic countries preparing for a more digitised and automated labour market? 3) How are companies and industries affected by the technological development? 4) How to deal with the need for skills? The programme included perspectives from all of the Nordic countries, from multinational organisations such as the OECD and the ILO, international companies such as McKinsey and Google, Nordic labour market authorities, social partners and companies undergoing changes.

Abstract: The conference aimed to identify Nordic and global future of work trends including new forms of work and new technologies and production models resulting from digitalization. It pointed to challenges of ensuring adequate protection, employment opportunities and safeguarding competitiveness in the Nordic region amidst rapid technological and demographic changes. As policy responses speakers identified the need to invest in education and skills, to update policies, legislation and collective agreements to better respond to the future labour market. Furthermore they emphasised that social protection should have a broad coverage and encourage active labour market participation. Global cooperation, labour standard and social dialogue are needed to promote decent work. Last but not least gender equality is an important principle and policy goal also for the future ILO work

This report presents a preliminary knowledge status about implications of the sharing economy for labour markets and employment relations in the Nordic countries. It also reviews how the Nordic countries and their social partners approach the sharing economy and issues relating, amongst other, to its legality, regulation, taxation, and terms of competition. There is so far scant supply of statistics, data and research in this field. The employment potentials and consequences of the sharing economy will, amongst other, depend on the governments’ and the organized actors’ responses to these challenges. Currently, all the actors seem to be in a phase of knowledge gathering and deliberation of possible policy options, cautiously avoiding taking steps that might obstruct the development of the sharing economy.