The European Framework Agreement on Digitalisation: a tough coexistence within the EU mosaic of actions

Abstract

Digital transformation of work is an unstoppable phenomenon, and a “multifaceted topic”. Platform and remote work and data manipulation are only aspects of the whole picture, creating new challenges for public stakeholders. The more the world of work changes, the more industrial relations are stimulated to cope with it. With this aim, European social partners have responded to the impact of digitalization on the labour market, with the adoption of the “European framework agreement on digitalization” (EFAD). Although the EFAD is fully in line with the European involvement in granting rights to workers involved in the digital transformation of the labour market, many questions are still on the table. There are many concerns about the integration of the EFAD within the mosaic of actions at EU level with regards to the digitalisation and automation at the workplace. A difficult integration that raises doubts about the effective implementation of the EFAD at national level and even about the role and the maneuvering space granted to European Social Partners in this field.