Through the Platform Work Directive, which must be implemented into national law by December 2026, the EU has introduced its first wide-ranging rules on working conditions and data protection for platform workers – but only for this group of workers. An extension of the scope of the regulations on algorithmic management to include further workers failed to secure a majority during the political negotiations at the time. However, the topic is now being discussed as part of the Quality Jobs Act, with the second phase of consultation of the European social partners currently underway. A corresponding legislative proposal for the Quality Jobs Act is due to be tabled at the end of 2026.

Workplace co-determination under new auspices

In her keynote speech, Sandra Steiner, Deputy Federal Chair and Federal Women's Chair of the GPA, described the ambivalence that is probably familiar to many when they think of AI. It brings with it great opportunities: language barriers can be overcome, repetitive tasks taken over and work processes simplified. Instead, workers could focus on more interesting and creative tasks. At the same time, AI poses a risk to workers for which the current legal framework does not provide sufficient protection. A survey by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work found that, out of 28,000 respondents, 48% reported that digital technologies determine the speed or pace of their work. 30% indicated that they are working in increasingly isolated conditions due to the use of digital technologies. Sandra Steiner also highlighted the gender equality dimension of AI regulation: AI reproduces existing prejudices, meaning that women in the workplace face higher workplace risks from generative AI than men.

Barbara Teiber, Federal Chair of the GPA and Member of the Austrian Parliament, too takes a critical view of the rapid spread of AI systems. In particular, the fast pace at which such applications are implemented makes it difficult to exercise co-determination at company level. From the works council’s perspective, effective engagement with AI requires not only sufficient time and management information, but also technical expertise. Barbara Teiber therefore considers appropriate rights to co-determination, as well as to the training of works council members, to be crucial in order to be able to play an active role in shaping the use of AI systems even before they are introduced.

Fridolin Wenny, Head of Unit, Digital Affairs at the Vienna Chamber of Labour, outlined two ways trade unions can organise in response to individualisation, increasingly precarious working conditions and AI-driven surveillance. First, he mentioned the Mein BR-App, supported by AK Vienna, which gives works council members access to a digital communication infrastructure fully independent of the employer. The app is already used by 260 businesses employing more than 130,000 people. Furthermore, AK Vienna, in collaboration with Austrian trade unions, has set up the Riders Collective – a digital and physical space that connects workers in the platform economy.

How productive does AI really make us?

Andrew Watt, European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), noted that empirical social science is struggling to keep pace with the speed of digital transformation. Hence, studies on the changes brought about by AI sometimes arrive at conflicting conclusions For example, economist and Nobel laureate Daron Acemoğlu sees limited potential for AI-driven productivity growth and believes there is still considerable uncertainty about how work will change. Andrew Watt nevertheless stressed that jobs with a strictly defined set of tasks are particularly vulnerable to being ‘rationalised away’ by AI. New labour and social security law must therefore adapt to the rapidly changing conditions and technological developments.

Gabriele Bischoff, MEP (S&D) reported on a delegation visit to South Korea, where, in her view, one thing in particular became clear: Europe is ill-equipped to deal with either the scope of AI or the speed at which it is spreading. The situation in South Korea shows that, whilst the major technology companies are raking in huge profits, workers’ rights are being eroded by the use of numerous small subcontractors, and a deep division within society is evident. Gabriele Bischoff therefore described the relatively well-developed industrial relations in Europe as a major advantage. Regulatory measures such as those already introduced through the Platform Work Directive must now become standard protections for workers across the EU. Referring to the Quality Jobs Act, Gabriele Bischoff described it as a major opportunity.

To ensure AI and algorithmic management benefit people at work, AK argues that any proposal on algorithmic management should add workplace-specific safeguards to existing rules under the GDPR, the AI Act and the Platform Work Directive. Information rights, transparency rules and co-determination should meet at least the standards of the Platform Work Directive, alongside formal recognition of the right to disconnect (the right to be offline). Practices that undermine human dignity or put workers’ physical or mental health at risk should be explicitly banned.

Further information

A&W Blog: Hat Arbeit Zukunft? Herausforderungen und Handlungsempfehlungen für die Arbeit mit KI (German only)
AK Info: Algorithmisches Management (Algorithmic management) (German only)
AK Vienna: Arbeit.Digital (German only)
ETUI: Future of work, AI and digitalisation
European Commission: Quality jobs for companies and workers in Europe
AK EUROPA Position Paper: Quality Jobs Roadmap