As artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic management tools gradually enter workplaces in Europe, employment professionals are calling on the European Union to introduce a new directive to protect workers’ rights.
According to a study commissioned by the European Commission, “Digital Monitoring, Algorithmic Management and the Platformisation of Work in Europe“, a quarter of workplaces in Europe use algorithms or artificial intelligence to automate decisions traditionally made by managers.
This number is expected to “rapidly increase over the next 10 years”, the report warns.
Artificial intelligence in every sector of work in Europe
The report says that these tools are used in recruitment, task planning, coaching workers on how to complete their tasks, and monitoring and evaluating workers, particularly for those working for large platforms such as Uber or Lyft.
Now it is starting to spread to more traditional jobs. A joint report by the Commission and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (“Algorithmic Management practices in regular workplaces:
case studies in logistics and healthcare“) found that the French logistics sector uses AI-based route planning tools to provide drivers with information such as road traffic and delivery locations in real time, but this can lead to “extensive monitoring and surveillance of drivers”.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said its members were struggling to negotiate collective agreements that would ensure that workers are aware of the algorithms used in their workplaces and how they affect them.
A practice that will spread further
Algorithmic management can determine an employee’s working conditions, such as working hours, wages, shifts and performance evaluation.
There are cases where algorithms also collect data they shouldn’t, such as information about mental health. It also said that platforms are tracking employees even when they are logged out.
In many cases, several workplaces are introducing new algorithms or metrics to evaluate employee performance “without informing unions” or employees, it added.
The Commission said in its report that existing EU legislation focuses on some issues affected by algorithmic management, such as work intensity, transparency and predictability, but that some gaps remain, such as the distinction between working time and rest time.
Algorithmic management has existed to some extent since the 1990s, but is experiencing a revival with the recent rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
What we will see more of in the coming years is just a more sophisticated version [of algorithms].
The economic weakness of unions
According to figures from Uni Europa, a union representing more than 7 million workers in the European Union, it claims that 23 agreements have been signed across Europe that mention algorithmic management.
The unions that successfully negotiated these agreements include the Spanish Workers’ Committee (CCOO) and the General Workers’ Union (UGT), as well as the Danish United Federation of Workers (3F). They sought the help of external experts to draft their agreements and have the appropriate budget to do so.
Most unions in the European Union do not have the same resources as the larger national unions, Jark pointed out.
Many of the other unions, of course, do not have the financial means to do this, with the result that they cannot support workers against companies. One solution could be for experts to be drawn on from outside national borders to help unions with fewer resources implement the agreements.
Even for workers covered by a collective agreement, enforcement is “very low” and often depends on whether workers approach management and ask for more information about how they may be monitored at work.
Lack of legislation
So far in Europe, legislation on algorithmic management is “very limited” for those working on fixed-term contracts for popular platforms such as Uber or Amazon, Delivery Hero, Deliveroo.
In 2024, the European Union passed a directive on workers employed by technology platforms that stipulates that workers “cannot be dismissed or removed from their position on the basis of a decision made by an algorithm or an automated decision-making system.”
The legislation to be adopted by member states under the directive will also guarantee workers the right to human oversight of all decisions made by an algorithm. It also obliges companies to disclose if and when they have made changes to their algorithms.
While the directive is an important first step for those working on large tech platforms, it is already somewhat “outdated”, as it only concerns employees in the gig economy.
“Technology has already taken control”
A new directive from the European Commission or amendments to the Platform Workers Directive, which would guarantee that EU workers can control the algorithmic decisions made by their management, would be a temporary solution until a legislative framework is created that includes the largest population of workers.
Lawmakers have been left behind and are following developments in technology. Technology has already taken control… it is already a reality for millions of workers across Europe, but it is not easy or quick to regulate.
Ideally, the ETUC wants this to be implemented as a separate directive on artificial intelligence in the workplace, which would come into force around the same time as the European Commission’s roadmap for quality jobs initiative, before the end of the year.
This was one of the recommendations submitted to the European Commission by Andrej Bulla, rapporteur for the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, earlier this year.
There are also a number of provisions in Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the EU law on artificial intelligence that protect Europeans, such as the ability to request what data tech companies have about them and where it is stored.
