14 June 2018

Date of Publication: 2018

Anxiety about the impact of technology on the world of work is not new. Since the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, the question of how technology shapes work and labour
and, in turn, how society should shape technology through technological choices and policies, has
fuelled intense public debate. In England, textile workers known as Luddites destroyed and smashed
automated looms, concerned that they would lose their jobs. While jobs in mass manufacturing and
new industries, such as coal, iron and steel were subsequently created, the Luddites did lose work. [View resource]

Authors: Christina Beherndt and Quynh Anh Nguyen
Date of Publication: 2018

Social protection systems around the world face challenges to provide full and effective coverage for
workers in all forms of employment, including those in ‘new’ forms of employment. While some
emerging work and employment arrangements may provide greater flexibility for workers and
employers, they may lead to significant gaps in social protection coverage, at a time when demands
on social protection systems are increasing. [View resource]

Author: Phoebe V Moore
Date of Publication: 2018

Digitalization has begun to impact work on the streets, at home, in factories and warehouses, and in
offices. The logic of algorithmic work acquisition and governance focuses on efficiency and profit
making. However, it also potentially penalizes women, youth, migrant workers and disabled workers,
leading to the ‘unequal life chances’ which Galtung refers to as structural violence (1969, p. 171, also
developed in Akhtar and Moore, 2016) and a significant rise in the risks of psychosocial and physical
violence and harassment in the digitalized world of work. [View resource]

Date of Publication: 2018

This first Flagship Report contributes to the ‘Global Deal for Decent Work and Inclusive Growth’; an
initiative launched in 2016 by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven as a concrete input to the UN
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The objective consists in developing and harnessing the
potential of social dialogue and sound industrial relations as instruments for promoting decent work
and job quality in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth,
and thereby fostering greater equality and more Inclusive Growth in line with Sustainable
Development Goal 10 on Reduced Inequalities. [View resource]

Authors: Thereza Ballister and Adam Elsheikhi
Date of Publication: 2018

An enormous amount of literature has emerged over the last few years in the context of the ‘Future
of Work’. Academics, think tanks and policy makers have fuelled rich discussions about how the
future of work might look like and how we can shape it. Indeed, labour markets in developing and
developed countries are likely to undergo major transformations in the next years and decades.
However, despite a growing body of research in this area, there exists no universally accepted
definition of what exactly the ‘Future of Work’ encompasses and what the most relevant drivers are.  [View resource]

Date of Publication: 2018

Care work, both paid and unpaid, is crucial to the future of decent work. Growing populations,
ageing societies, changing families, women’s secondary status in labour markets and shortcomings in
social policies demand urgent action on the organization of care work from governments,
employers, trade unions and individual citizens. If not adequately addressed, current deficits in care
service provision and its quality will create a severe and unsustainable global care crisis and increase
gender inequalities at work.  [View resource]