IndustriAll Europe co-hosted the annual policy conference of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), bringing together trade unions, policymakers and experts to discuss how Europe can build greater economic, energy and technological sovereignty while ensuring social progress.
IndustriAll Europe General Secretary Judith Kirton-Darling joined the panel on Europe’s electrification challenge, while Deputy General Secretary Isabelle Barthès spoke in the session on AI, work and the elements of a pro-worker agenda.

Electrification must strengthen European industry

Judith Kirton-Darling stressed that electrification is essential to reduce Europe’s dependence on volatile fossil fuels, meet climate goals and strengthen industrial resilience. But Europe is not moving fast enough.

High and volatile electricity prices, insufficient grid capacity, slow connections and high investment costs continue to hold back industrial investment. Europe needs affordable and predictable electricity, major investment in grids, storage and interconnections, and much stronger coordination between Member States.

Electrification must also be an industrial strategy. Europe cannot simply replace its dependence on imported fossil fuels with dependence on imported clean technologies. European demand for clean technologies should support manufacturing, industrial capacity and quality jobs in Europe.
Judith Kirton-Darling also underlined that workers and households cannot be left to pay for the transformation. Public support for companies must come with binding social conditions, including commitments to investment, quality jobs, skills and social dialogue. Companies also have a responsibility to reinvest profits in European production sites, technology and their workforce.

Workers must be involved before restructuring takes place, not after jobs have disappeared. This means proactive transition planning, strong collective bargaining and social dialogue, and a right to training.

“Electrification is about workers, not only electrons and grids. We need affordable electricity and investment in infrastructure, but also investment in people. Workers and trade unions must be involved from the beginning if this transition is to strengthen European industry and deliver quality jobs - this urgently requires a European framework on anticipating and managing change to allow a real Just Transition for workers both in the energy sector and energy intensive industries,” said Judith Kirton-Darling.

Workers must have a say on AI

Isabelle Barthès warned that industrial AI and automation are developing rapidly. The transformation is not limited to white-collar work: blue-collar jobs and industrial workplaces are also changing, adding to uncertainty among workers already facing major industrial transitions.
But technology does not automatically produce good or bad jobs. What matters is how it is introduced and whether workers and their representatives can shape its use.

Barthès called for a genuinely human-centred approach based on the principle of “human in control”. AI should support workers, strengthen human capabilities and improve job quality, rather than replace human judgement or create new forms of surveillance and control.

As algorithmic management increasingly affects task allocation, performance assessment and managerial decisions, workers need stronger safeguards. Workers and their representatives should be involved from the design and testing of AI systems through to their deployment, monitoring and evaluation. Information and consultation must start early, while social dialogue and collective bargaining should play a central role in governing workplace AI.
Skills are equally important. AI literacy, lifelong learning, reskilling and upskilling must be part of industrial policy, with access to training recognised as a right.

“There is no technological determinism. AI can improve jobs and support workers, but only if workers have a real say in how it is designed and used. Faster is not always better. We need AI that complements workers rather than replaces them, with strong social dialogue, collective bargaining and a right to training. We also expect the Quality Jobs Act to deliver adequate rights to address the specific challenges posed by AI, guarantee meaningful human oversight, and ensure that the twin green and digital transitions are managed as a just transition that protects workers’ rights, jobs and working conditions.” said Isabelle Barthès.

For industriAll Europe, Europe’s green and digital transformations must be built around the same principle: technological and industrial change must deliver for working people. Sustainable European sovereignty requires investment in European industry and infrastructure, but also quality jobs, skills, collective bargaining and a real voice for workers in shaping change.

More information on the FEPS Policy Conference ‘Towards a sustainable European sovereignty’