Credit: Ted.com Politicians must act to assist workers as technology continues to transform jobs across Europe, said a committee of the European Union bishops’ commission.
Work is sustainable only “if it does not harm or destroy the livelihood of others and if it uses generously and equitably the gifts of creation”, said the social affairs commission of COMECE, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community.
The commission issued the report, ‘Shaping the future of work’, to “contribute with a socio-ethical reflection to the current debate on the future world of work in Europe”.
Problems
It outlines problems facing the world of work in the EU today, highlighting factors such as the blurring of boundaries once separating professional and private life, the decreasing availability of traditional middle-class jobs and the difficulty young people have finding permanent positions that come with health and pension benefits.
The “polarisation” of the job market with the disappearance of blue-collar jobs – with many being “relocated to a country with cheaper labour costs or replaced by robots or algorithms” – and the increased demand for highly-skilled labour is a serious problem that EU politicians must address, the bishops said.
The goal is to make work accessible and sustainable for all, built on an economy that centres on the people it is meant to serve, they added.