The literature on industrial relations and the public debate mostly analyze the effects of technological innovations on the labour market with reference to its potential to disruption of a number of jobs and to modify the required competencies. Much less attention have been paid to the effects of digitization on labour relations in connection with the emergence of the phenomenon that, in the American context, is indicated using the umbrella concept of “contingent work”: “a general term for forms of employment tied to the completion of a specific task and, hence, of relatively short duration”.

In SWIRL project, the contingent work will include indicatively people who are paid according to the work done (both online and offline) and the services/performance he/she offers, not based on the time spent.
The fragmentation of the work is accompanied by the spread of multiple jobs, a condition that is very frequent among freelancers; this suggests a wider phenomenon: the double works, in fact, affect different activities and sectors, also following the rapid development of the platforms, which offer fragmented employment opportunities to be added to the main one. The term slash work was coined to describe the 'slash' in the job title of someone who is an X/Y/Z - or journalist/web editor/PR, to give an example.
In this scenario, industrial relations systems are called to respond to new challenges to ensure workers an adequate level of social protection, as set out in the "European Pillar of Social Rights". The project aims to investigate the regulatory models that are being developed at international level, both within and outside of collective bargaining and to develop new prototypes of industrial relations.

Woking group:

• Ivana Pais - Responsabile scientifico UCSC
• Davide Luca Arcidiacono
• Gabriella Bigatti
• Claudia Manzo
• Anna Mori

Partners:

• Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Italy (Coordinator)
• Universidad de Cadiz - Spain
• Institut Mines-Telecom - France
• Institut fur Sozial Wissenschaftliche Forschung ISF Munchen - Germany
• ACTA Associazione Consulenti Terziario Avanzato - Italy
• SmartBe Fondation - Belgium
• Institute for the Study of the Societies and Knowledge Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Bulgaria