Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The Polish insurer Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń (today employing 15500 people) is to cut 2079 jobs and change employment conditions for 4576 employees in 2010. If any of the employees offered new conditions decline the offer, they too will be laid off.
On Wednesday 10 March 2010 enterprise-level trade unions and the employer representatives signed an agreement on these provisions. Negotiations resulted in 235 fewer people undergoing direct dismissals and 821 less people being offered the new employment conditions.
These dismissals are part of a large restructuring programme entitled "Micro2" which aims to centralise the administrative activities of ten centres across the country.
Eurofound (2010), Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń, Internal restructuring in Poland, factsheet number 70165, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/70165.