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With the Conference held on February 24th, the European project “Irel – Smarter Industrial Relations To Address New Technological Challenges In The World Of Work”, co-financed by the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission, of which the Marco Biagi Foundation was the leader, came to an end.
The project’s objective was to research and analyze the ways in which the actors and practices of industrial relations are facing the challenges propelled by the digital transformation of the traditional working models through digital platforms, in a remote working landscape and the Industry 4.0. The project intended to promote transnational dialogue and exchange of information for a systematic comparison aimed at identifying best practices.
The project involved the participation of scholars from universities and institutions from seven European Union countries (Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland) and the collaboration of various associations, such as Filcams Cgil, Confederations of Danish Employer, Estonian Trade Union Confederation, Syndacat European Trade Union, Danish Trade Union Confederation and IG Metall.
Outputs delivered:
- 28 reports. 4 for each country, providing an overview of the current state of industrial relations, also in relation to digital work, and a detailed framework of the interventions and strategies adopted by the social partners in each of the three macro-areas under observation;
- 4 workshops to present and compare the results collected in the national reports and more than 10 in-depth seminars on the issues under study;
- several contributions by members of the research teams published in academic journals;
- 2 books in which the most significant iRel project outcomes have been collected, respectively entitled “Digital Employment and Industrial Relations in Europe” (edited by Dr. Olga Rymkevich and Prof. Iacopo Senatori) and “Litigation (Collective) Strategies To Protect Gig Workers’ Risks: A Comparative Perspective” (edited by Prof. Iacopo Senatori and Prof. Carla Spinelli).
All the documents produced are freely available on the project website: https://irel.fmb.unimore.it/about-the-project/.
The comparison and in-depth understanding of national industrial relations systems, of policies followed by national and European lawmakers and of case law orientations, have been central in the elaboration of intervention proposals and recommendations addressed to policy makers and social partners at different levels.
