European Parliament Group Demands Worker Protections Amid Digital Transition

The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament is increasing political pressure for an ambitious European framework for quality jobs. At the "Quality Jobs for All" conference in Brussels on October 14, the group focused on the impact of artificial intelligence, digital surveillance, precarious employment conditions, and rising work-related stress.

The conference convened as the European Commission is expected to present its proposal for a Quality Jobs Act in December 2026. The S&D Group highlights that jobs and labor markets are changing rapidly due to automation and AI. Experts at the conference warned of concrete risks associated with AI-based labor management, including increased work intensity, higher performance pressure, reduced autonomy, opaque employment decisions, and surveillance.

Gaby Bischoff, Vice-President of the S&D Group, stated that technology must serve people, improve job quality, and strengthen workers' rights. The group demands that workers and their representatives be involved in the introduction of AI systems, with effective rights to information, oversight, and appeal.

The S&D Group calls for the European Commission to establish binding rules that include protection against algorithmic management, a right to disconnect, the possibility of telework where duties allow, protection of the right to organize and collectively bargain, and measures to address psychosocial risks such as burnout. The group emphasized that the substantial productivity gains generated by artificial intelligence must be redistributed to society as a whole, not solely accumulated by a few major technology owners.