EMPL

Working robots: As automation becomes dominant in numerous global industries, the younger generation faces upheavals in the job market, leading to a decline in motivation to join the workforce. What steps can Member States implement to build a sustainable job market and inspire career development among the youth?

Motion for a Resolution by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)

Working robots: As automation becomes dominant in numerous global industries, the younger generation faces upheavals in the job market, leading to a decline in motivation to join the workforce. What steps can Member States implement to build a sustainable job market and inspire career development among the youth?

Submitted by: Tristan Burm (NL), Sophie van den Heuvel (NL), Dane Oerlemans (NL), Frédérique Umbreit (NL), Misha Zwietink (NL). Chaired by: Nicolau Huistra (ES)

The European Youth Parliament aims to support young Europeans, workers, and other groups threatened by automation. It further aims to strike a balance between the risks and benefits of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI), promoting the opportunities these advancements can bring to the job market and society as a whole.

The above is decided upon because

  1. Rapid advancements in automation and technology require reform of educational systems and policies to ensure that younger generations are equipped with the skills needed for emerging industries,
  2. The risks stemming from automation in the workforce are manageable and avoidable through adequate policy responses from Member States,
  3. Job automation has the potential to further social inequalities in the EU, disproportionately affecting some social groups,
  4. Amidst attempts to manage automation’s impact on the job market, a persistent challenge involves the risk of widening income inequality, as its benefits may unevenly favour specific industries and high-skilled workers, demanding continued attention and solutions from policymakers,
  5. According to OECD research, safeguarding policies are needed to ensure that workers’ well-being and rights are upheld, while still allowing for the benefits of AI to be exploited in the workplace,
  6. About 14% of EU adult workers’ positions are at a high risk of automation, particularly in routine jobs that lack a demand for transversal and social skills.

To that end, the European Youth Parliament

  1. Urges Member States to limit the extent to which the workforce can be automated and AI used in the workplace, by introducing national legislation on the matter;
  2. Urges the European Commission to help younger generations acquire future-oriented digital and social skills, directed towards sectors with increasing demand for workers, by creating European-wide educational programmes;
  3. Calls upon the European Union Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) to raise employers’ awareness on the importance of investment in human capital through lifelong learning, in order to create a workforce that is adaptable to automation;
  4. Suggests that Member States promote upskilling by developing programs which allow individuals at a disproportionate risk of job displacement due to automation, to train for in-demand jobs;
  5. Encourages Member States to develop social safeguards for workers affected by automation by creating a special form of unemployment benefits for individuals in that situation, allowing them to spend time retraining for new occupations;
  6. Calls upon Eurofound to produce guidelines for employers on effective ways of integrating AI in workplaces in order to foster a positive reception of new technologies by workers;
  7. Asks the European Youth Forum (EYF) to educate young Europeans on the issue of job automation and on future-proof jobs, by launching an information campaign on social media and television.

Annex: Definitions belonging to the Motion for a Resolution by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)

For the purposes of this resolution:

  1. ‘OECD’ stands for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and is an international organisation dedicated to developing social and economic policies.
  2. ‘The European Union Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)’ is an agency of the EU focused on providing technical assistance to EU social, employment, and work-related policy-making.
  3. The ‘European Youth Forum (EYF)’ represents the interests of young people and youth organisations at the European level.