PANEL: The Privatised Panopticon: Workers’ surveillance in the digital age

The global pandemic crisis has increased some trends related to work and surveillance that were already happening. First, with the raise of working from home, in some cases employers have tried to keep the tight control of the workforce via the the use of different types of software (Zoom, Microsoft Office). Second, the increase of eCommerce and the huge growth of Amazon has also raised concerns about the impact of surveillance on workers. Increasingly, the need to bring labour rights is a digital rights topic as well, and the need to bring coalitions together against specific threats are of utmost importance. During this panel we aim at discussing the current trends of surveillance at the workplace and the role of trade unions to enforce and defend digital rights. With Amazon as the prime suspect, we will explore other cases in the EU where the interaction of trade unions and digital rights are crucial.


During this panel we aim at describing the different struggles open and the possibilities for digital rights groups and trade unions to bring changes together in specific campaigns and actions in 2021. How could we combine the fight for human rights online and the work of trade unions when tackling surveillance at the workplace or when protesting, going on strike…

Speakers:

Check out the full programme here.

Registrations are open until 24 January, 2021 here.