Podcast | Is the future looking bright or bleak for European workers?

Competitiveness and innovation are astatine the halfway of Ursula von der Leyen’s 2nd mandate arsenic main of the European Commission.

Recent developments, specified arsenic proposals for caller business-friendly ineligible frameworks similar the 28th authorities and repeated calls for deregulation, person raised interest among immoderate observers, who reason that workers’ rights hazard being overlooked, oregon adjacent eroded.

Meanwhile, radical are acrophobic that caller technologies specified arsenic Artificial Intelligence (AI) volition regenerate them, portion accent connected the occupation is causing a burnout crisis.

On International Labour Day, Brussels, My Love? explores the challenges and opportunities faced by European workers successful this existent clime with Esther Lynch, wide caput of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Mikkel Barslund, labour marketplace researcher astatine KU Leuven, and Clark Parsons, CEO of the European Startup Network.

Burnout and caller technologies

This year’s Labour Day marks a historical occasion: 100 years agone connected this day, Henry Ford, the antheral down the car marque Ford, introduced a five-day moving week with a two-day work-free weekend. In the pursuing decades, large strides were made to amended moving conditions.

However, important hurdles remain. “The challenges successful beforehand of america are important and serious,” Lynch said. “Whether it's artificial quality and the deficiency of safeguards, the magnitude of accent and burnout that workers person astatine the moment, oregon scrupulous companies utilizing loopholes to undermine rights and entitlements.”

She noted that immoderate European countries are adjacent questioning whether International Workers’ Day should beryllium a nationalist holiday. “So we are perfectly coming together, celebrating our victories, but besides preparing for each of the struggles of the future.”

On the skyrocketing burnout rates, Barslund lamented the deficiency of harmonised information connected the phenomenon. Some studies study that astir 20% of European employees amusement signs of burnout, portion others estimation the fig is arsenic precocious arsenic 60%. This makes it hard to found a precise prevalence complaint successful Europe, and truthful besides hinders solutions.

“One crushed wherefore it's precise hard to tackle [burnout and work-related stress] is that we really don't person a grip connected this,” the researcher said. “Burnout is expanding passim Europe, but we don't harmonise statistic showing this. It’s a precise important problem, but we don’t recognize it precise well.”

He noted the aforesaid is existent erstwhile it comes to knowing what is causing this spike successful work-related intelligence wellness problems.

Another contented keeping galore workers up astatine nighttime is the emergence of caller technologies similar AI and what this means for people’s jobs.

Again, Barslund highlights that it is hard to measure whether European jobs are astatine hazard with the emergence of AI. However, helium underlines concerns that AI tools whitethorn beryllium utilized for intrusive surveillance of employees, perchance causing accent and adjacent burnout.

Parsons, connected the different hand, believes that AI is already starring to “incredibly monolithic disruption” crossed galore sectors.

However, helium besides sees this exertion arsenic an important plus for European startups: “What's been truly breathtaking to spot is the magnitude of unthinkable breakthrough technology, caller labs, caller startups, and caller concern happening each crossed Europe,” helium said.

Are workers’ rights being eroded successful Europe?

In this fast-changing environment, the EU’s involvement successful boosting industry’s competitiveness is, of course, highly tied to the question of workers’ rights.

According to Lynch, it is bully that the EU is supporting radical successful starting and scaling up businesses; however, she argues that the 28th regime, besides known arsenic EU Inc, should not beryllium considered the solution to making Europe much competitive.

“That is going to undermine each azygous employment close that everybody is presently protected by astir Europe,” she told Euronews.

Among the astir captious points of the 28th regime, Lynch highlights the anticipation for companies to registry successful a determination antithetic from that of their employees, to commencement and adjacent a concern quickly, and to usage stock options alternatively of wages.

Additionally, Parsons believes the 28th authorities volition beryllium a large accidental for European start-ups and their growth. “When we [stat-ups and unions] beryllium down and person a dialog with each other, we’re going to find a full batch of areas wherever we wholly agree”.

In summation to the EU Inc, Lynch is besides acrophobic astir the crackdown connected commercialized unions. “What we person seen passim Europe is immoderate atrocious authorities being introduced, successful peculiar to forestall moving radical coming unneurotic to protest,” she told Euronews.

According to the 2025 Global Rights Index, astir three-quarters of European countries violated the close to strike, and astir a 3rd of them arrested oregon detained workers.

“We request governments to beryllium precise wide with employers that they expect them to unrecorded up to their responsibilities, to recognise the union, to respect the national and to facilitate workers to travel together,” Lynch said.

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