“We must talk about the future of all work, not only highly-skilled engineers - everyone must find their way in this digitalised future. We need more investment in skills and qualifications, but we must also find solutions to social challenges.”

Opening Panel ‘Future of work: automation or co-creation?’

General Secretary, Luc Triangle, took part in the opening panel ‘Future of work: automation or co-creation?’ where he stressed that Industry 4.0 needs Labour 4.0. It is clear that we are facing numerous challenges, he said, including digitalisation, of course, but also climate change, and globalisation.

“We must talk about the future of all work, not only highly-skilled engineers - everyone must find their way in this digitalised future. We need more investment in skills and qualifications, but we must also find solutions to social challenges.” 

IndustriAll Europe is of the opinion that we need to anticipate change, reflecting on the skills needed today, so that we are ready for a transition in the future. In particular, we need to give our workers better training in Digital Skills to face both the future of industry and the future of work in general. “All stakeholders need to be involved in anticipation of change, that means workers and employers, through social dialogue”.

IndustriAll Europe, as the voice of 7 million workers engaged in industry, firmly believes in co-creation and in opening the digital transformation to all. In particular, in Europe, we must consider the regional element and avoid an increase in inequality in Europe. IndustriAll Europe will continue to strive for a future of industry with a strong social dimension that benefits everybody.

Workshop ‘Managing the change in industry - the constructive contribution of social dialogue’

On 22 February, IndustriAll Europe hosted a workshop entitled ‘Managing the change in industry - the constructive contribution of social dialogue’ which presented cases where social partners in industry have made proposals to better manage change in their sector. The change in industry specifically relates to 'mega-trends' such as digitalisation, sustainability and demographic ageing. The workshop succeeded in highlighting the importance of social dialogue to manage change in multiple sectors, including: paper, automotive, metalworking and chemicals.
IndustriAll Europe was also represented in other workshops organised by partner organisations including the Orgalime panel on ‘Digital meets Energy Union meets Circular Economy’ and a panel on ‘Artificial intelligence: balancing business and opportunity with ethics and responsibility’ organised by Orange. 

High-Level Industrial Roundtable 'Industry 2030'

Moreover, industriAll Europe took part in the inaugural meeting of the High-Level Industrial Roundtable 'Industry 2030' of which it is a member, alongside the European Trade Union Confederation. The Roundtable was presided over by Jyrki Katainen, European Commission Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment & Competitiveness and Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. General Secretary, Luc Triangle, represented industriAll Europe in the discussion on the future of EU industry in the global economy towards 2030 and on industrial policy objectives and indicators for 2030, reiterating the messages that he presented publicly in the opening panel of the Industry Day. IndustriAll Europe will continue to represent the interests of European industrial workers in further meetings for the duration of the Industry 2030 High-Level Roundtable. 

View the EU Industry Day website here.

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Watch a short video about Day 1 of #EUIndustryDay featuring industriAll Europe here