From 21 to 24 September 2023 took place in Velehrad / Czech Republic a seminar about “Digital transformation, new forms of work and workers’ representation – a lasting challenge”, organized by KAP (Hnutí „Křesťan a práce“), with the support of EZA and funded by the European Union.
The seminar was attended by 57 representatives of workers’ organizations from Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria, Albania, Poland and Slovakia.
The aim of the seminar was to evaluate how the digital transformation affects the European labor markets with an emphasis on the challenges arising for employment organizations.
The Friday afternoon program included five contributions that dealt with the given issue from the general concept of the given changes to the specific impacts. The program of the seminar was introduced, and the seminar was opened by the chairman of KAP Jiří Konečný.
In her contribution, associate professor Lidmila Němcová (KAP) emphasized the importance of ethical aspects arising from the social teaching of the church in responding to the current trends of ongoing digitization, which, in addition to the labor market, also has major impacts on the elderly population.
Professor Lubor Lacina (Mendel University Brno, KAP) offered a summary of how technological changes have influenced the development of the European labor market in the last one hundred and fifty years. At the same time, through interesting examples, he pointed out the economic, social, and political consequences of these changes.
Mr. Professor Antonín Rusek outlined how digitization, and especially the development of artificial intelligence, affects development in the United States with a comparison of why similar processes can have different impacts in the European area.
Associate Professor Ľubica Černá (NKOS Slovakia) described how the digital transformation affects workers in Slovakia, and addressed the question of what should be the adequate response of employee organizations and political representation to these phenomena.
Mr. Alois Langer (Bata's school of work Zlín) presented the Crafts Center 44 operating in Zlín, which is trying to build a modern and practical shoemaking center that would enable the rescue and development of the disappearing shoemaking industry through active promotion among the youth.
The Saturday program continued with a morning seminar at the Zlín Crafts Center where the possibilities of digitization, especially 3D printing in shoe production were presented.
The afternoon program took place at Tomáš Bata University, where the dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management introduced the participants to newly accredited programs preparing future graduates for changes in the labor market as a result of digitization, automation, and robotization. Associate Professor Zuzana Dohnalová presented a paper about changes in the labor market resulting from the digitization and about the employment of university graduates. She pointed to the changing thinking and values of university students in terms of demands for wages and working hours.
In the Sunday program, several participants presented their papers successively through a combination of on-site presentation and online connection. Mr. András Bardócz-Tódor (Hungary) addressed the issue of the transformation of education and gave examples of the increasing demands of the teaching profession with regard to changes in the forms and style of teaching as a result of digitization accelerated by the Covid pandemic.
Dr. Aleš Chmelař, who acts as the representative of the Czech Republic at the OECD in Paris spoke about “The changing labor market due to digitization, AI, robotization from the perspective of the OECD”. He drew attention to the professions that will be most threatened in the period up to 2030 by digitization, automation, or with the advent of AI. He emphasized the necessity of lifelong education as a tool for both reskilling and upskilling.
Aneta Szczykutowicz (Nowy Staw Foundation Poland), Miriam Catullo (KAB Aachen), Dr. h. c. Roswitha Gottbehüt (Germany), and Marini Floriea SAUATT (unions of Albania drew attention to the social aspects of changes in the labor market and the importance of lifelong learning. Mag. rer. nat. Tobias Hölbling (Institute for Employment Support Bolzano, Italy), focused on the importance of digitization and employment support in Italy using the example of the South-Tyrol region.
Jiří Konečný (chairman of KAP) and Lubor Lacina (moderator of the Sunday section) summarized the most important findings that emerged from the presentations and discussion of the seminar participants:
Digitization, automation and robotization have great potential to change the structure of the labor market. At the same time, it creates new opportunities. They require new skills from workers and make demands on politicians, including demands on education systems and infrastructure. It is essential not to be left behind from the point of view of the competitiveness of the company and the national economy, while at the same time proceeding in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
The added value of the seminar was a better understanding of the trend as well as relevant European and Church documents, which will enable the participants to better respond to the challenges of digitization in the future and better plan for the future. Social and ethical contexts were emphasized.
The danger of negative social impacts both on the part of the individual and the entire society was identified. It will be necessary to find a balance between the pressure of businesses to increase productivity and the effects on employment. The loss of medium-high income jobs such as legal services or programming will also be a problem. The government will play a major role primarily in the politics of the reskilling and upskilling process.