No legal ecosystem fully addresses the risks to workers’ rights, dignity and decent work. To bridge the gaps, the re­port also includes a list of potential collective bargaining topics and issues for inspiration in the negotiations with management. Digital technologies are often introduced by management as technical upgrades, efficiency tools, or unavoidable in­novations. In practice, however, they frequently reshape working conditions, intensify monitoring, redistribute pow­er, and create new risks for workers’ dignity, autonomy, health, and job security. Digitalisation is not just a techni­cal matter, though. It is a labour issue and therefore a le­gitimate subject for negotiation, consultation, and collec­tive bargaining. What this report can do for you This report is designed to help you: → Identify digital technologies being used or proposed in your workplace, even when they are presented in vague or technical language; → Understand your existing rights under labour law, ­data-protection rules, occupational safety and health frameworks, anti-discrimination law, and collective agreements; → Hold management accountable to its legal obligations when introducing, using, or expanding digital systems; → Prepare for negotiations by showing how other unions and workers have addressed similar challenges; → Bridge gaps in the law through collective bargaining where legal protections are weak, unclear, or poorly en­forced. Rather than assuming that digitalisation is inevitable or in­contestable, the report treats it as a process that can—and must—be shaped through collective action. How to use this report in practice Each section of this report serves a specific purpose and can be used independently, depending on your immediate needs. Section 2: Examples of digital technologies used in workplaces This section provides examples of digital technologies used in India. Maybe your workplace uses a similar tech­nology, although it might be called something different? If you are in doubt about what digital technologies are used, do a virtual walk-through of a typical working day. From the moment you enter the workplace – how do you get in? Do you use an electronic keycard? Or does a tech­nology register your fingerprint or face? Do you then need to log on to a computer technology, use a handheld de­vice, a mobile phone, a GPS tracker, or anything else? All of these technologies are digital, and all of them create data. If your walk-through reveals the use of digital technolo­gies at work, this report will be highly useful for you. Section 3: What are your rights – and what are management’s obligations? This section begins with a graphical depiction of the legal and collective frameworks that already apply to digitalised workplaces. You can use this section to quickly identify which laws, regulations, or agreements are relevant to your situation. Find the links to the laws and agreements in the Annex. It then moves on to describe the legal and collective frameworks that already apply to digitalised workplaces. It explains what employers are required to do—such as consult workers, assess risks, limit surveillance, or ensure fairness—and how unions can invoke these obligations in discussions, negotiations, or disputes. Section 4: The checklists of questions you have a right to ask! Cut out this section and carry it with you when you prepare for discussions with management around the implementa­tion and use of digital technologies in your workplace. The questions help ensure that your rights are respected and that employers meet their obligations. Section 5: Filling the Gaps – Bargaining Topic Suggestions Even when management follows the law, the law is often not enough to address how digital systems affect every day working conditions. Many of the issues raised by AI, moni­toring tools, performance dashboards, and data-driven management are only partially regulated or not regulated at all by existing legislation. This is where collective bar­gaining becomes important. This section provides exam­ples of bargaining themes that unions may consider when seeking to address the gaps that current law leaves open. For further inspiration on concrete contract language un­ions have successfully negotiated, see Public Service In­ternational’s open database that includes almost 600 clauses related to the digitalisation of work. Find it here: https://publicservices.international/digital-bargaining-hub Introduction – Technology at Work Is a Labour Issue 5