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THE FUTURE OF WORK AND TRADE UNIONS AND

OTHER RIGHTS AND LABOUR LAW AND POLICIES
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FUTURE OF WORK

INDUSTRY 4.0 GLOBALISATION DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

• Driven by 4 things – High speed • New skills and technology demanded
• Workers becoming independent of an • As per Mckinsey report 11.5 million
mobile internet, AI, Big Data and cloud for sustainability
organization ( called as free agents, e- Americans over age 50 are in roles that
technology (Internet of things) • Increase in demand of products and
lancers, etc) could be automated
• 14% of jobs could be automated with services which are socially and
• Flexibility in terms of which client to • Since men are concentrated in roles
32% likely to change environmentally focused
work for, when and where to work and involving physically intensive work,
• As per Mckinsey Global by 2030 for how long men could be displaced at higher rate • Constraints which were overlooked
robots will replace 800 million workers previously (climate change, natural
• Bipolarization of workers outsourcing • As baby boomer generation moves
across world resource etc) will become more
by employers towards retirement, 65+ age
• Will allow humans employees to focus prevalent
population will swell
on more meaningful, fulfilling tasks
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ILO PERSPECTIVE : A HUMAN CENTRED STRATEGY
• For the future of work, ILO suggests a human-centered strategy that enhances the social
contract by putting people and their work at the center of economic and social policy and
business practice

• This agenda is made up of three pillars of action that would combine growth, equity and
prosperity for present and future generations

Increasing investment in Increasing investment in

people’s capabilities decent and sustainable work
Increasing investment in
the institutions of work
• Universal access to lifelong • Incentives to encourage
learning production for good and
• Establish a Universal
• Enhance investment in sustainable jobs in key areas
Guarantee of Employment
institutions, programs and • Restoration of corporate
• Harnessing technology to
approaches to support people incentive structures for long-
increase flexibility and achieve
during future work transitions term investment strategies and
a work-life balance
• Implement a progressive and discovery of new human
• Both workers and employers
tangible gender equality agenda development and well-being
should possess freedom of
metrics
association and the right to
bargain jointly
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OLA
DRIVERS’
CONTRACT
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ZOMATO
DELIVERY
PARTNER
CONTRACT

Labor Law reforms for FOW
Mo d e r n p ro b l e m s re q u i re m o d e r n s o l u ti o n s
Code on Social Security,2019
Bill incorporates definition of “gig workers”,
”platform workers” and “Aggregators”
Benefits of health, life, old age protection
given. Ejusdem Generis interpretation.
Benefits of ESIS and EPF not given as
belong to unorganized sector
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Code on Occupational Safety The Wage Code 2019
Apprentices excluded from the
Multiple registrations done away
definition of employees
with; one registration required for all
work including involving contract New floor level min wage
labor for 5 years. @178/day, disregard to ILC
375/day mandate
Excludes industries with 10 or
Recognition of diminishing
less workers
geographical boundaries and abolish
“inspector raj” Inspector-cum-facilitator gives
leverage to industries, extension
of working hours
Promotion of ease of doing business
Labor Laws after struggle were
worker oriented, shift wards
industry orientation
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Will Trade Unions cease to exist?

Platform Economy

Instagram recently An explicit contract

proposed to remove IG MEME UNION at least exists in the A new path?
likes making it former cases, in this
impossible for situation no former
“influencers” to Instagram meme union contract exists even In changing
leverage brand and called for online though business employer-employee
sponsored content applications and model remains the dynamics, are we
within a day top same looking at the new
influencers like Nicki face of unions?
Minaj Unionize to fight
against this policy
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Trade Union’s View: Future of Work

• Better job opportunities: Presently, educated young generation is happy with the better job opportunities
offered by platform economy. E.g. Swiggy, Ola/Uber, Amazon. But the number of jobs created will not offset the
number of jobs lost to automation.

• Time of Income Inequality: It is a time when income inequality is high and sending rifts of division through
communities. The rich are reaping the major share of benefits of the technological change. Trade unions will be
creating strategies to ensure that Industry 4.0 avoids some of the grim working conditions.

• Rise of Job Insecurity: Automation will replace a lot of medium skilled jobs, so more and more people are likely
to be pushed into low-paid insecure work. Industries in the gig economy have built their enterprises on cheap
and unpaid labour that does not provide any social security, pensions, or other benefits.

• Employment Models: Websites like Amazon, Airbnb, Ola/Uber fall within the ambit of Platform economy. As we
move into the future, employment models will be based on this sharing economy.

Future of Trade Union: Gig Economy
RETRAIN AND UP-SKILL
• Jobs for high-tech production
systems will require highly skilled
workers.
• Trade unions will work with the
governments and businesses to
prepare workers for new forms of
work.
“Skills revolution”
• New forms of education
• Continuous re-skilling
INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION
• As part of international integration,
trade unions from around the world
will join hands and fight for a
common cause against the
management.
• Trans-national digital unions might
take form. They will be industry
based. For e.g. Union of Steel
Industry Workers
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PLATFORM ECONOMY
• There is no employer-employee
relationship as employer is not
identifiable.
• Trade unions will work towards
identifying employers and negotiate
with them.
• Trade unions will fight for rights,
taxation, pension, health and security
of workers working in such a shared
economy.
• Union operated platforms can also be
witnessed.
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As an HR fellow, can
you think of the
possible challenges ?
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CHALLENGES 02

01 Increase in Job Polarization:

Skill gaps will leave millions of
Mid-level skill jobs hollowing out
positions unfilled in the following
decade 05
02 Imbalanced peripherals:
Global competition and cyber security

Unwillingness to accept contract Balance between highly educated

work due to transition to workforce and less utilization
03 permanent employment
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Lack of social security, pensions,

or other benefits
04
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How to overcome the challenges ?

Provide Competitive Invest in Employee

Benefits Training and
Offer Flexibility, and Expand union
Development
Focus on Work/Life membership to new
Balance forms of work

Importance of the status

of employment as a Social Protection
gateway to workers’
rights and protections
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TU Protests Against Wage Bill

EMPLOYER FRIENDLY LAW

Workers’ rights are suppressed, and the
employer is benefited under the garb of
MINIMUM WAGE ADJUSTMENT improving ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rank.
Bill proposes minimum wage
adjustment every five years.
Union demands annually.
MINIMUM WAGE DETERMINATION
Per capita food intake method not
followed detailed in SC Raptakos Brett
Judgement
APPRENTICES EXEMPTED
Not included under ‘workers’ but
considered employees under
current laws
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Future of Work – Expectations

employers think it will become standard practice for AI to be used to suggest

75% next best actions to customer service agents within the next five years.
Source: PEGA

65% children currently entering primary school will hold jobs that currently don’t exist.
Source: World Economic Forum

40% increase in labour productivity making use of AI in business.

Source: Accenture

office workers say they are ‘mostly excited’ about the future world of work and see
37% a world of possibilities.
Source: PwC

executives believe that the future of work will be based more on specific projects
79% than roles giving rise to fluid gigs.
Source: Accenture

Fluid Gigs: Project based teams will be favoured over organizational hierarchies.
Positions will be more fluid.
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APPENDICES
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Thanks!
Any questions?