On 30 September, Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Social Rights, Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, visited Lithuania. During a meeting with social partners, discussions focused on labour market changes in the age of artificial intelligence, the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining, strengthening workers’ skills, and the European Commission’s initiative on the Quality Jobs Act.
The Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation (LPSK) was represented at the meeting by Acting President Dalia Jakutavičė, Vice-President of the Lithuanian Federation of Industrial Trade Unions Jurga Subačiūtė Žemaitienė, and LPSK Public Relations Specialist Jūratė Čilinskaitė.
Roxana Mînzatu presented the European Commission’s agenda, emphasising that improving the quality of jobs must go hand in hand with strengthening Europe’s competitiveness. Key issues included protecting workers from unsafe and precarious working conditions, accountability throughout subcontracting chains, the impact of algorithmic management on workers, occupational health and safety, and the risks posed by climate change in the workplace.
The Executive Vice-President also addressed the need to ensure fairer labour mobility across Europe, including safeguarding social protection rights when moving to another country for work, digital social security documents, simplifying procedures for people working abroad, strengthening the role of the European Labour Authority, and the recognition of qualifications. Vocational training, reskilling, education and care services were also discussed.
According to R. Mînzatu, investing in people and their skills is essential for Europe’s future. She highlighted the importance of social dialogue and collective bargaining, as well as the need to modernise employment services, strengthen vocational training and pay greater attention to the needs of individual economic sectors. Technological progress must not mean that workers become subject to control by algorithms or artificial intelligence.
Workers Must Be Involved Before Decisions Are Made
LPSK Acting President Dalia Jakutavičė stressed that workers and their representatives must be involved in decision-making before technological changes are introduced, rather than being informed only after decisions have already been made.
“Trade unions are not against artificial intelligence. However, it is important to us that workers do not find out about technological changes only when they are told that their jobs are disappearing. Social dialogue must begin before a decision is made to introduce technology that significantly changes jobs, work organisation or the monitoring of employees,” said D. Jakutavičė.
LPSK believes that the introduction of new technologies must be accompanied by transparent information, consultations with workers’ representatives and clear safeguards to ensure that new tools do not worsen working conditions, undermine workers’ rights or pose unjustified risks to their health.
The Benefits of Technological Progress Must Also Reach Workers
The meeting also addressed how to ensure that productivity gains generated by artificial intelligence and other technologies benefit not only companies but also workers. LPSK emphasises that technological progress should not be viewed solely as a means of reducing labour costs. It should also contribute to better working conditions, higher wages, shorter working hours, more opportunities for workers to develop their skills and greater employment security.
“If Europe, in its competition with the United States and China, starts treating workers’ rights as a cost of competitiveness, we will already have lost that race. It is essential that the productivity gains generated by artificial intelligence bring measurable benefits not only to companies but also to workers,” LPSK stressed in its position.
If workers contribute to creating greater value through the use of new technologies, they must also have a share in the benefits generated by this progress.
The meeting also addressed future mechanisms for resolving conflicts and the possibility of a new agreement between social partners. Discussions also covered the Quality Jobs Act initiative and the measures needed to ensure that quality employment is not merely a declared objective but a reality for workers.
As Lithuania prepares to assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, dialogue between social partners on these issues will continue. It was emphasised at the meeting that this would not be a one-off discussion, with further meetings with Ms Mînzatu also envisaged.