PES president Sergei Stanishev was a key speaker at a discussion on the topic with European Youth Utopia in partnership with Google, and in collaboration with foundations FEPS, Jean Jaures, JMK and Res Publica held in Brussels.
Mr Stanishev said:
“Digitisation is here to stay. The proud days of the working class in European industry are gone. We need to manage this disruption, because we are the party of the working people, and we care about better jobs and working conditions and about salaries people can live on. We are facing a massive societal challenge and we need to be behind the steering wheel.”
According to the OECD, around 10% of all jobs in Europe face the risk of disappearance due to digitisation over the next decade. This will generate further inequality between skilled and unskilled jobs.
The PES has described its progressive vision on the problem described in the publication Workers’ rights and social progress in the digital economy.