The ECHR has been interpreted, through the right to respect for private life (Article 8 ECHR), non-discrimination (Article 14 and Protocol No. 12 ECHR), freedom of expression (Article 10 ECHR) and freedom of association (Article 11 ECHR), to encompass certain labour and employment related rights such as the right to collective bargaining[1] or the right to strike[2] and to recognise the particular value of certain rights at work such as workplace privacy[3] or occupational health.[4] The ESC includes a large set of labour rights, both individual and collective.[5]

The use of AI systems may have far-reaching implications for labour and employment, spanning numerous categories of occupations (including those relatively sheltered from previous waves of automation), employers, and workers. The use of AI systems could hinder access to work, increase work intensity, reinforce or exacerbate power imbalances between employers and workers, reduce human involvement in decisions on hiring, evaluation and dismissal, and undermine fundamental principles and rights at work. AI-related challenges are particularly prevalent in new forms of employment such as platform or “gig” work.[6]

 

[1] Demir and Baykara v. Turkey, No. 34503/97, 12 November 2008.

[2] Ognevenko v. Russia, No. 44873/09, 20 November 2018, § 73.

[3] López Ribalda and Others v. Spain [GC], Nos. 1874/13 and 8567/13, 17 November 2019.

[4] Meier v. Switzerland, No. 10109/14, 9 February 2016.

[5] The right to work, just conditions of work, safe and healthy working conditions, fair remuneration, the right to equal opportunities and equal treatment in matters of employment and occupation without discrimination on the grounds of sex, protection in cases of termination of employment and protection of workers’ claims in the event of the insolvency of their employer, dignity at work, right of workers with family responsibilities to equal opportunities and equal treatment; and collective: the right to organise and to bargain collectively, the right to information and consultation – also in collective redundancy procedures – and to take part in the determination and improvement of the working conditions and working environment, protection of workers’ representatives in the undertaking and facilities to be accorded to them.

[6] Platform work is a form of employment in which organisations or individuals use an online platform to access other organisations or individuals to solve specific problems, or to provide specific services in exchange for payment.