Representatives of social partners, associations, companies, science and politics met in Berlin. At the final conference, Andrea Nahles presented the discussion paper for the White Paper “Arbeit 4.0”.
With the White Paper 4.0, the Federal Government wants to oppose the challenges of advancing digitalization, which are increasingly changing the working world.
Nahles said: “The dialogue “Arbeit 4.0” has made it clear that our model of social partnership is the best base for ensuring and promoting good work in the future. My goal is a fair negotiated trade-off between the needs of employers for more flexibility and the needs of employees. In concrete terms, I propose more electoral working time options and an innovative working-time organization, which recognizes personal time requirements in addition to the gainful employment. I would like to create learning environments to enable social partners to try out in practice whether more flexibility and protection against overloading fit together. And my goal is a training programme and a right for further education as the demands on employees are changing to a new extent. The White Paper “Arbeit 4.0” sets thus an important impulse to use digitalization as an opportunity for a century’s progress for the working world.“
With the submission of a Green Paper in April 2015, the BMAS began the broad-based dialogue process. The central question was: How can technical innovations be used for social progress and “good work” be maintained and strengthened in digital and social change? The term “Arbeit 4.0” stands for a summary of innovative design opportunities in the working world with regard to digitalization, demographic change and social challenges.
During the process, which took almost 1.5 years, the BMAS asked various stakeholders, such as associations, trade unions and companies and conducted expert workshops, conferences and thematic events. It also commissioned scientific studies. In ways of direct dialogues with citizens, views of the general situation were obtained. The discussion paper for the White Paper “Arbeit 4.0” is the result of this broad process. It analyses the big trends,designs requirements of the working world 4.0 and identifies concrete solutions for companies, employees, social partners, associations, chambers as well as for politics in the federal and state governments. The guideline “Good work in the digital transformation” is based on the strengths of the German economic and social model and aims at a socially balanced new working world that offers security and flexibility. In concrete terms, the White Paper describes solutions in eight fields:
- Employability: from unemployment to labour insurance
- Working time: flexible, but self-determined
- Services: strengthening good working conditions
- Healthy work: approaches for occupational health and safety 4.0
- Employment protection: ensuring high Standards
- Co-determination and participation: shaping the transformation cooperatively
- Independence: promoting and safeguarding freedom
- Social status: prospects for the future and European dialogue