S&D Conference on Quality Jobs: Europe must protect workers through the digital transition

The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament is stepping up political pressure for an ambitious European framework for quality jobs. At the “Quality Jobs for All” conference in Brussels on 14 October, the impact of artificial intelligence, digital surveillance, precarious employment conditions and growing work-related stress was at the centre of the debate. The conference took place as the European Commission is expected to present its proposal for a Quality Jobs Act in December 2026. Quality Jobs for All is one of the S&D Group’s six flagship political priorities, set out under their Strategic Turn initiative in recent months.

Jobs and labour markets are changing rapidly, with automation and artificial intelligence able to fundamentally transform professions and their activities. At the same time, concerns are growing about job cuts, wage pressure, social exclusion and the loss of workers’ voices in the workplace.

Experts at the conference warned of concrete risks linked to AI-based labour management. These include greater work intensity, increased performance pressure, reduced autonomy, opaque employment decisions, surveillance, and risks to workers’ mental and physical health. “The change driven by AI and algorithmic management presents both productivity opportunities and risks to worker autonomy, wellbeing and fundamental rights”, a 2025 study by the European Parliamentary Research Service warned. Conference speakers therefore called for the involvement of workers and their representatives in the introduction of such systems, together with effective rights to information, oversight and appeal.

“For us, S&Ds, technology must serve people. It must improve the quality of work. It must strengthen workers' rights,” said S&D Vice-President Gaby Bischoff. People in the labour force must not become mere objects of automated decision-making. Algorithms must not be allowed to determine who loses their job.

From the S&D Group’s perspective, a European Quality Jobs Act must secure concrete and enforceable rights. These include:

“We have workers’ backs, now and into the future.” Under this guiding principle, the conference placed workers’ perspectives at the centre of the discussion.

The S&D Group called on the European Commission not to stop at voluntary guidelines in the announced legislative framework. What is needed are minimum standards that apply and are effectively enforced in all Member States. Guidance can be useful, Commission Vice-President Roxana Minzatu pointed out, but “rules are how we make sure that these rights remain a reality.”

Gaby Bischoff, S&D Vice-President for Social Europe, said about AI technology:

“It has to be regulated to benefit humans and improve our living and working conditions. The enormous productivity gains that artificial intelligence and robotics may generate must be redistributed to society as a whole, not only accumulated in the hands of a few Big Tech owners.”

The “Quality Jobs for All” conference took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 14 October. The S&D Group called on the European Commission, Member States, employers and social partners to establish binding rules now for safe, fair and quality jobs.

Press contact

James Kemmy
Political Adviser and Interim Press Officer (EMPL/ECON/FISC)
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament
Phone: +32 2 2830 667
Email: [email protected]

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