Published on 8th November 2017
In the context of the Estonian presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Estonian Labour Inspectorate and the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs are organising a joint event on 7-8 of November around the topic “New Forms of Work and Occupational Safety and Health”.
The conference brings together experts, academics, social partners and regulators to discuss the challenges the new forms of work are bringing and the consequences in terms of legislation and enforcement thereof.
The first panel started with a presentation by Denis Pennel, Managing Director of the World Employment Confederation-Europe, who talked about employees’ and employers’ readiness to embrace changes. He reminded that the on-demand economy requires companies to be more agile and this, combined with digitalisation and public policies to counter unemployment, means that there has been a huge diversification of work relationships and a destandardisation of working conditions.
Today, workers have a multiplicity of expectations as people seek more autonomy, greater flexibility and a better work/life balance.
In the light of the above, it appears clear that ensuring occupational health and safety is essential in a more flexible and digitalized context in our changing world of work.
This echoes the policy recommendations the World Employment Confederation-Europe is putting forward in its newly released Manifesto “No future of work without Social Innovation” and its leadership role it is taking in building futureproof labour markets.
According to the World Employment Confederation-Europe, it is indeed essential to promote and implement social innovation as well as introduce new security schemes.
The conference was opened by the Director General of the Labor Inspectorate of Estonia, Maret Maripuu, Deputy Secretary General on Labor and Employment Policy at the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia, Janar Holm, and Charlotte Grevfors Ernoult from the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion within the European Commission.
