Policy Responses To New Forms Of Work

This report provides a snapshot of the policy actions being taken by OECD, EU and G20 countries in response to growing diversity in forms of employment, with the aim of encouraging peer learning where countries are facing similar issues.

Postwar employment standards are being undermined and 'non-standard' employment is becoming more common. While scholars have pointed to negative consequences of this development, this volume also discusses the evidence for a new and socially inclusive European employment standard.

Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future. The 2019 World Development Report will study how the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive against machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of employment. Improved private sector policies to encourage startup activity and competition can help countries compete in the digital age. Governments also need to ensure that firms pay their fair share of taxes, in part to fund this new social contract. The 2019 World Development Report presents an analysis of these issues based upon the available evidence.

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.

Non-standard forms of employment--including temporary work, part-time work, temporary agency work and other multi-party employment arrangements, disguised employment relationships, and dependent self-employment--have become a contemporary feature of labor markets the world over. This report documents the incidence and trends of non-standard forms of employment across different countries of the world and explores the reasons behind this phenomenon, including increased firm competition, shifting organizational practices of firms, and changes and gaps in the regulation of work. It assesses the implications for workers’ pay, income security, and other conditions of work, as well as the effects on firms, labor markets, and society in general. The report reviews international, regional, and national regulation of non-standard forms of employment, identifying differences across countries as well as promising legislative responses for ensuring decent work. It also analyses other policy responses such as strengthening workers’ associations and collective bargaining, redesigning social protection systems, and further policies for addressing labor market governance. The ultimate objective is to provide guidance on practices that can help ensure protection of workers, sustainable enterprises, and well-functioning labor markets.

This report identifies seven policy dimensions that allow governments – together with citizens, firms and stakeholders – to shape digital transformation to improve lives. It also highlights key opportunities, challenges and policies related to each dimension, offers new insights, evidence and analysis, and provides recommendations for better policies in the digital age.

Casual work, both intermittent and on-call, contributes to labour market flexibility and is therefore increasingly used across Europe. In some countries, practices go beyond the use of casual employment contracts to include other types of contracts and forms of self-employment. While it offers some advantages for both employers and workers, it is often discussed by policymakers at EU and national levels due to the observed negative consequences it has for some workers. Impacts include economic insecurity and unpredictability of working time, which in turn affect workers' health, well-being and social security. From a labour market perspective, casual work raises concerns about decent social inclusion of vulnerable groups, labour market segmentation and more general trends towards fragmentation of work and brain drain. Some policy responses have already been implemented to tackle these issues; further policy pointers are flagged in the report.

This edited volume explores the old and new “collective dimensions” of employment relations. It examines specific challenges stemming from new forms of work of the digital and sharing economy, such as measurement, monitoring, assessment, and remuneration of work, the protection of work-life balance, the impact of new technologies on health and safety, the adaptation of occupational skills to new work processes, and the responses to the digital restructuring of undertakings. It addresses a series of questions such as how the representational action of unions and works councils can adapt to the challenges posed by new production systems and whether the legislative framework needs to be reformed to ensure that digital workers enjoy the right to collective representation. This important collection offers readers a renewed theoretical perspective and justification of the role that the dialogue between workers (representatives) and companies could play in an increasingly complex world of work.