By some estimates, half of all jobs are under threat.
That was the tough message from Jon Cruddas MP at the start of a roundtable about wellbeing in the workplace, hosted by the New Economics Foundation in Westminister on February 28. The event was open to the public, making for a lively if disjointed discussion about the challenges of employment in the age of automation.
Kate Bell from Trades Union Congress introduced two trends: a fall in real wages and a sharp rise in insecure work like self employment and zero hours contracts. One in ten of the workforce is in insecure work, Kate said.
"We need to turn up workers' voices in the workplace" @kategobell #Wellbeing pic.twitter.com/mM2GUPLtoC
— NEF (@NEF) February 28, 2017
Good ONS graph showing scale of real wage falls, and worrying downward trend. pic.twitter.com/9CtepWCX0B
— Kate Bell (@kategobell) February 15, 2017
- Using legislation to shift responsibility for workplace wellbeing back to the employer.
- Changing tax to reflect the higher number of self-employed people in the UK, compared to the rest of Europe.
- Turn up the volume of workers in the workplace, giving trade unions more of a voice.
Uber driver @Yaseenaslam381, founder of @United_PHD, says 43% of members have had panic attacks since driving. 30% are on antidepressants.
— Far Nearer (@far_nearer) February 28, 2017
.@anniequick says we are facing an industrial transition. We must plan as this will change our economy. #wellness https://t.co/WFEg0aXXKN
— Far Nearer (@far_nearer) February 28, 2017