Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.960805111809.19657I-100000@fox.ksu.ksu.edu> Date: Mon, 5 Aug 1996 11:19:59 -0500 From: kerry miller <mailto:astingsh@KSU.EDU> Subject: LIVING AND WORKING IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (fwd) To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 05 Aug 1996 16:31:07 GMT From: mailto:ARIES-V.WOODELL@GEO2.poptel.org.uk To: mailto:ARIES-EUROINFO@GEO2.poptel.org.uk Subject: LIVING AND WORKING IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
25Jul96 EU: PEOPLE FIRST - LIVING AND WORKING IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (96/07/24). The European Commission has today adopted a Green Paper on the key social challenges raised by the transition to the Inf rmation Society. The Green Paper points out that although the adoption and widespread use of informa-tion and communicat on technologies offer a huge potential for wealth creation and higher standards of living, many people are also concerne about the impact of the Information Society on their lives. The Green Paper invites comments and debate particularly on the implications of the Information Society on work organisation, employment and social cohesion and invites reflection n a set of common Community principles for the development of the European Information Society. It seeks to deepen the p litical dialogue with the European Institutions and the Member States, to focus the social dialogue between employers an unions on these issues and to promote civil dialogue notably with the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), with a vie to coming forward wi! th action proposals in 1997. Following a proposal by Mr. Padraig Flynn, European Commissioner with responsibility for Employment and Social Affairs a d Mr. Martin Bangemann, European Commissioner with responsibility for Industrial Affairs, Informa-tion Technology and Te ecommunications, and in agreement with Mrs Edith Cresson, the Commission today adopted a Green Paper entitled "Living an Working in the Information Society: People First." The Green Paper examines how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are reshaping production and work organis tion and are transforming peoples lives. It acknowledges the fact that people are worried about the social and economic pheaval and rapid change which is taking place in the wake of the introduction of ICTs and summarises their concerns in wo main questions:
-Will these technologies not destroy more jobs than they create and will people be able to adapt to the changes in the w y they work?
-Will the complexity and the cost of the new technologies not widen the gaps between industrialised and less developed a eas, between the young and the old, between those in the know and those who are not? The Green Paper outlines a number of challenges which must be met if society as a whole is to reap the benefits of techn logical progress and if we are to ensure that there is equitable access to the Information Society and a fair distributi n of the potential for prosperity. These challenges include how to maximise the potential of new approaches to the organ sation of work; how to ensure Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) take full advantage of the Information Society; ow to find a new balance between flexibility and security in the world of work whilst anticipating and adapting to chang ; and how to manage the job transformation process and overhaul our education and training systems to overcome the skill gap. A fundamental challenge is to ensure that the Information Society does not create or reinforce existing inequalitie between the information rich and the infor-mation poor. The Green Paper builds on the work of two groups which the Commission estab-lished last year specifically to advise on t ese issues. A High Level Group of Experts began its work in May 1995 and presented its preliminary report "Building the nformation Society for us all" in February 1996. The Information Society Forum which is broadly based and consists of 12 members, presented its first annual report in June 1996. Both reports are available as complements to the Green Paper. The key messages of the Green Paper are that:
- the Information Society will bring fundamental changes in the way we work. We need to anticipate and adapt to these ch nges and to find a new balance between flexibility and security. The Green Paper suggests that there is a need for a rad cal rethink of all our systems - employment protection, working time, social protection, health and safety - to adapt th m to a world of work that will be organised differently.
- the introduction of ICTs offer a great potential for employment creation as a consequence of the gains of productivity that can be achieved. Though the introduction of ICTs has not changed the rate of job creation, it has brought about new skill requirements. These have not been matched rapidly enough by the labour market. Investment in human resources shoul be placed at the centre of employment policy. The Green Paper suggests that, for employment to grow, Europe needs a sub tantial overhaul of education and training to match the ICT revolution and to keep pace with continuing technological de elopment.
- there is a need to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks of ICTs for cohesion. The Green Paper argues that ICTs can play an important role in supporting regional and local development and promoting integration and empowerment. tronger local involvement through local and regional pacts is needed to develop a more employment intensive and human re ource oriented cohesion policy.
- for the Information Society to serve the needs and requirements of European people, to contribute to enhancing equal o portunities for all, to overcome the disadvantages faced by disabled and disadvantaged groups, to improve democracy and o revitalise our communities, an active participation of all citizens is required. The Green Paper will be launched by Commissioner Flynn, in collaboration with the Irish Presidency, at a European Colloq ium in Dublin in September. ANNEX: Executive Summary PEOPLE FIRST IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY We are living through a historic period of technological change, brought about by the development and the widening appli ation of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This process is both different from, and faster than, anythi g we have seen before. It has a huge potential for wealth creation, higher standards of living and better services. ICTs are already an integral part of our daily life, providing us with useful tools and services in our homes, at our wo kplaces, everywhere. The Information Society is not a society far away in the future, but a reality in daily life. It is adding a new dimension to society as we know it, a dimension of growing importance.The production of goods as well as se vices are becoming more and more knowledge based. However, the speed of introduction of ICTs varies between countries, regions, sectors, industries and enterprises. The b nefits, in the form of prosperity, and the costs, in the form of burden of change, are unevenly distributed between diff rent parts of the Union and between citizens. Understandably, people are worried and demand answers to questions about t e impact of ICTs. Their concerns can be summarised in two main questions: the first has to do with employment. Will these technologies not destroy more jobs than they create? Will people be able to adapt to the changes in the way we work? the second question has to do with democracy and equality. Will the complexity and the cost of the new technologies not iden the gaps between industrialised and less developed areas, between the young and the old, between those in the know nd those who are not? To meet these concerns we need public policies which can help us reap the benefits of technological progress, and which an ensure equitable access to the Information Society and a fair distribution of the potential for prosperity. This Gree Paper aims to stimulate the debate on the development of the European Information Society, and focuses on the key issue of the organisation of work, employment and social cohesion. Working in the Information Society (Chapter 3) ICTs have led to an enormous reduction in the cost of storing and processing of information over the last 50 years. We a e now witnessing a similar reduction in the cost of transmitting information. This is the beginning of the information d stribution revolution. In this way ICTs are reshaping working life, the organisation of enterprises and the whole of soc ety. Enterprises are being transformed away from hierarchical and complex organisations with simple jobs to more decentr lised and network-oriented organisations with more complex jobs. The most successful enterprises are combining ICTs with education and training and with organisational transformation in an integrated approach. Fostering this approach present a number of challenges. a first challenge is to build knowledge and raise awareness of the potential of the new paradigm of work organisation to deliver both productivity growth and job satisfaction. a second challenge is to help SMEs, the job generators in the EU, maximise the potential of this change to become more c mpetitive. a third challenge is to modernise the contractual framework for working life to find ways and means to reconcile flexibi ity and security. Employment in the Information Society (Chapter 4) Europe has had steady but low employment growth for several decades. The introduction of ICTs does not seem to have chan ed the rate of job creation. If anything, growth has become slightly more, not less, job-intensive. The introduction of CTs has huge effects on skill requirements and employment policy must become more focused on human resource investment. his is underlined by the already existing mismatch between skill supply and the demand for new skills - the two-speed la our market. what Europe needs is a substantial overhaul of education and training that can match the ICT revolution and keep pace wi h continuing technological development during the years to come. the education system must be transformed from teaching to learning. Enterprises must offer more learning by doing. The u employed must be offered retraining instead of long term unemployment and de-skilling. Cohesion: Living in the Information Society (Chapter 5) Strengthening economic and social cohesion remains a key objecti e of the Union. Progress towards convergence in income per head between Member States has been positive but slow, but di parities between regions within the same Member States have tended to widen over time. ICTs can play an important role i supporting regional and local development and promoting integration and empowerment, and the key issue is how to maximi e the opportunities and minimise the risks of new ICTs for cohesion. a first challenge is to ensure that the liberalisation of telecommunications proceeds fully and rapidly across the Union and that the new regulatory framework supports cohesion objectives. a second challenge is to integrate more closely the Structural Funds and Information Society policies, so as to stimulat the access and use of modern ICTs. The process of stronger local involvement through local and regional employment pact could be an important vehicle for a new, more employment intensive and human resource oriented cohesion policy. a third challenge is to ensure that the Information Society becomes a tool to create an inclusive society. The Informati n Society should be about people and it should be used for people and by people to unlock the power of information, not o create inequalities between the information rich and the information poor. Guiding principles for the Information Society (Chapter 6) The way we develop the Information Society, the most fundamental change of our time, must reflect the ideas and values u on which the European Union is shaped. These ideas and values should be transparent in order to gain and deserve the bro d support of European citizens. To this end the Commission invites all interested parties to reflect on the possibilitie of formulating a set of common Community principles for the development of the European Information Society. Comments are invited on all of the issues presented in the Green Paper. They should be sent to: PEOPLE FIRST
European Commission Directorate General V Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs DG V/B/5 200, rue de la Loi B-1049 BELGIUM
By 31 December 1996. Comments can also be sent by e.mail to: people mailto:first@fse.dg5.cec.be Copies of the Green Paper, the High Level Expert Group Report and the Infor-mation Society Forum Report are also availab e at the above address, or from the ISPO Web server at: URL: http://www.ispo.cec.be/infosoc/legreg/docs/peop1st.html http://www.ispo.cec.be/hleg/hleg.html http://www.ispo.cec.be/infoforum/pub.html. Ref: IP/96/688. EUROPEAN UNION RAPID 24/7/96