Science fiction is rife with farfetched stories about robots plotting to conquer the world – the physicist Steven Hawkings even recently suggested humans should colonize other planets in case robots surpass people – but fears of artificial intelligence displacing human labor in the workplace are much more realistic.

As part of the USCIB Foundation’s ongoing research of human capital requirements in the 21^st century, the foundation published a report with the McGraw Hill Global Institute and the Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR), titled “Hype vs. Reality: A Roundtable Discussion on the Impact of Technology and Artificial Intelligence on Employment,” which concludes that our educational system must change if we are to take advantage of the new jobs technology will create.

Published on October 21 and based on a roundtable held earlier this year in New York, the report is available for download on the USCIB Foundation website.

CCR Director Charles Fadal observed that the educational systems of the United States and many other advanced economies were designed with the needs of a 19^th century, largely industrial workforce in mind. In order to address the needs of a more technologically advanced workplace, the older curriculums would need to give way to new systems that foster greater creativity, critical thinking and collaboration.

It is likely that as the pace of technological innovation increases, more jobs will be completed more quickly and efficiently by machines. But as the report notes, “it is just as likely that truly creative intelligence tasks, social intelligence tasks, and those mechanical tasks involving sophisticated perception and manipulation will still require – at the very least – human oversight, if not substantial human involvement.” The report adds, “just as it has in the past, technology will eliminate some jobs for human beings while creating the conditions for the emergence of others.”

But in order to equip the workforce with the knowledge and skills needed for a new labor landscape in which robots perform jobs traditionally done by humans, today’s education curriculum must undergo a major redesign. Above all, the report notes that the educational system must teach students to be adaptable, “precisely because we cannot predict what technologies will be ascendant in the future, we have to teach ourselves and our children to be versatile.”

Staff contact: Abby Shapiro

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Gender equality is a key business priority. The International Organization of Employers (IOE) commits to tackling gender discrimination in the workplace; to promoting access to equal education, training and career opportunities; to encouraging women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship; and to contributing to the global effort to increase the participation and integration of women in the workforce.

To this end, the IOE secretariat has worked with member organizations and partners to produce its first Policy Brief on Women’s Empowerment.

“Issues surrounding women’s economic empowerment affect countries at every level of development and every company,” said Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB’s senior counsel who was involved with IOE policy brief. “USCIB welcomes this IOE initiative, which promises additional platforms for advocacy, exchange of best practice and demonstration of the commitment of business to ensuring workplace equality.”

In further activity to intensify the IOE’s work in this area, representatives of the IOE secretariat and 29 member federations joined other specialists from the World Bank, Deloitte, the Centre for International Private Enterprises (CIPE) and the International Labor Organization at a conference organized by the ILO Training Center in Turin entitled Employers’ Organizations and Women Entrepreneurs: How to reach out. The event took stock of the achievements of employers’ organizations in supporting female entrepreneurs.

Staff contact: Ronnie Goldberg

The United Nations Forum on Business and Human rights was larger than ever this year, drawing over 2,000 registered participants. USCIB attended the forum, which took place from December 1 to 3 in Geneva along with representatives from USCIB’s global network, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE).

The global event focused on strengthening multistakeholder dialogue and engagement, discussing national action plans to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, exploring access to effective remedy and identifying current and good practice.

USCIB co-organized and co-hosted a business-only side event along with the ICC and IOE and several other global business associations on December 1 with close to 100 business representatives, during which business views were garnered on progress and challenges relating to corporate respect for human rights. Overall business attendance at the event was up from previous years and was estimated to be between 10-20 percent of all attendees.

Attendees agreed that the Forum’s atmosphere improved over previous years and was very conducive to constructive dialogue between the stakeholders. The quality of the dialogue was no doubt influenced by the chair of the Forum, Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim, who bucked traditional UN protocol in favor of a more collegial and engaging atmosphere, referring to participants as “brothers and sisters,” rather than relying on the traditional honorifics.

A primary area of interest to business and other stakeholders was governments’ progress in creating National Action Plans (NAPs) to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Countries that have submitted NAPs thus far include the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark and Spain, while the United States, Colombia, Finland and Switzerland are in the process of developing theirs. The IOE has prepared a synopsis of the completed NAPs.

USCIB will co-host an open consultation about the U.S. NAP along with NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights on December 15, which will engage representatives from the United States government on their plans for the U.S. NAP.

Another focus of the discussions was on the question of access to remedy, ranging from the current practices of companies to provide non-judicial, operational grievance mechanisms, and emerging legislative efforts by governments to influence the conduct of their companies operating extraterritorially.

Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president for labor affairs, corporate responsibility and governance, spoke at a panel on “Identifying options for international coordination and regulation to overcome challenges in access to remedy,” which involved NGOs as well as a Dutch national prosecutor and a former Canadian Supreme Court justice. The dialogue explored the wide array of existing legal frameworks for addressing issues like corruption as well as the deficiencies in these approaches, which rely on prosecutors and courts from different countries to support one another with legal assistance and sharing of information.

Another aspect of access to remedy that featured prominently at the Forum was the intergovernmental working group to be established in 2015 to explore the creation of a binding international instrument on transnational corporations and human rights. This initiative, spearheaded by Ecuador, was the focus of an IOE side event during the forum, in which IOE Secretary General Brent Wilton called on business to show results with respect to human rights to pre-empt other actors from giving their own take and detracting from the momentum behind the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which the business community actively supports.

“We have to continue to proactively and constructively promote the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles,” said Wilton, reminding participants that existing mechanisms to address human rights should not be undermined.

Staff contact: Ariel Meyerstein

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Sometimes described as the “unfinished business of globalization,” labor migration raises complex and sensitive political, human rights, economic and social concerns, as well as an array of legal and regulatory challenges. Migration accordingly occupies a prominent place on both national and multilateral policy agendas and in public discourse.

Against this backdrop the International Organization of Employers (IOE) has created a policy working group on international labor migration, chaired by USCIB’s senior counsel Ronnie Goldberg, charged with establishing the IOE position in the debate and with providing guidance to members and companies.

This policy working group recently issued a position paper which focuses on several aspects of international labor migration of immediate and practical concern to business.

“Labor migration, particularly the movement of highly skilled personnel and intra-company transfers, are key issues for USCIB companies,” said Goldberg. “Through IOE, we have s seat at the table and an opportunity to make our case in the many international bodies discussing this issue.”

In developed countries competition is increasing to recruit skilled immigrants to meet shortages in key industries. Employers are working with governments and other social partners to identify where skills shortages exist and proposing measures to rectify the situation.

Staff contact: Ronnie Goldberg

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Following the September announcement by President Obama to develop a U.S. National Action Plan (NAP) to promote responsible business conduct abroad consistent with United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, USCIB and the NYU Stern Center for Human Rights will co-host an open dialogue on the U.S. NAP on December 15 at the campus of NYU Stern.

White House media release: Announcement of Opportunity to Provide Input into the U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct.

As the White House develops the National Action Plan, U.S. officials will attend a series of events hosted by independent organizations where stakeholders will be able to provide input on the National Action Plan process and content. Officials will outline current U.S. initiatives and plans to develop an effective national action plan in line with international standards. The New York consultation is the first in this series. U.S. officials also will participate in similar events in California, Oklahoma and Washington, DC throughout 2015.

The event will open with a plenary session and continue with small-group workshop discussions on a range of topics related to responsible business conduct. An agenda will follow. More about the National Action Plan can be found in the White House’s fact sheet and on the Business and Human Rights Resource Center website.

Staff contact: Ariel Meyerstein

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The government of Myanmar has made significant strides toward reform that have created opportunities for foreign investment. As Myanmar’s reform efforts continue, the White House recently announced a multilateral initiative to improve labor rights in Myanmar which will set a strong foundation for sustainable growth and development. The U.S., Myanmar, Japan, Denmark and the International Labor Organization (ILO) launched the “Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labor Rights and Practices in Myanmar” on November 14 to help Myanmar modernize its labor code, improve compliance with international labor standards and foster dialogue between government, business and labor.

As explained by a United States Trade Representative Fact Sheet, “this innovative engagement is designed to use a multilateral, multi-stakeholder approach to strengthen labor reform, enforcement, transparency, and domestic stakeholder consultations. The Initiative is based on two pillars

Labor Reform: The Initiative will support development by the government and stakeholders, in cooperation with the ILO and partner governments, of a multi-year labor reform plan. Burma has already undertaken some significant labor law reforms, but the labor reform plan should solidify those reforms, help Burma comply with international standards, and lay out a plan to build the capacity of the government to implement these reforms.

Stakeholder Consultative Mechanism: The Initiative expects to bring stakeholders into the discussion on labor reforms and build the foundations for good industrial relations and civil society consultations in Burma. Specifically, the Initiative envisions the establishment of a stakeholder consultative mechanism that is expected to foster both tripartite engagement (i.e., engagement by the government, employers, and workers), and civil society consultation at the domestic level as well as build relations among international stakeholders from business, labor and civil society that are engaged in Burma.

USCIB has stepped up its advocacy for business in Myanmar, particularly on issues related to investment and responsible business practices. A number of USCIB members currently have operations tied to Myanmar, and many wish to do business in the country. USCIB has played a key role in the multi-stakeholder discussions hosted by the U.S. government and the International Labor Organization and several of its members plan on engaging in the process going forward.

Staff contact: Ariel Meyerstein

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The G20 Employment Taskforce met today at the International Labor Organization to reflect on the expectations of labor and employment ministers and government sherpas in the run up to the handover of the G20 Presidency to Turkey on December 1.  Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB’s senior counsel, is participating in the taskforce.

Speaking for the B20 Human Capital Taskforce, International Organization of Employers President Daniel Funes de Rioja, and Erol Kiresepi, vice president of the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (TISK) and member of the Turkish G20 Steering Board, outlined the expectations of the global business community.

Funes reiterated the longstanding employers’ call for structural reforms to many G20 labor markets, as well as the ongoing need to bridge the skills gap. These are “fundamental” to getting people back to work and overcoming the barriers to hiring.

“The B20 Human Capital Taskforce calls on governments to remove the barriers to offering diverse forms of employment,” said Funes. He went on to remind attendees that, despite a commitment by the G20 to embrace multiple forms of work, monitoring by the IOE and BIAC had revealed that eight G20 countries failed to take initiatives to fulfill this commitment, and four countries had restricted recourse to flexible forms of work. Disappointingly for business, the September labor ministerial in Melbourne had not renewed the earlier commitment.

When it came to the skills gap, the UK was cited for its successful reforms to the apprenticeship system, but there is “still a long way to go in some countries”. Funes recalled the work being done by the IOE-BIAC-initiated Global Apprenticeships Network (GAN) which provides a unique platform for businesses to share best practices on work-readiness programs that address both the skills mismatch and the youth unemployment crisis.

Looking forward to the Turkish presidency, Kiresepi called for a renewed focus on job by promoting an enabling environment for business, and particularly SMEs. He also welcomed his government’s proposal to include the demographic challenge on the agenda, which he likened to “a ticking time bomb”, threatening to jeopardize growth and employment if not properly addressed – including through “effective labor mobility policies.”

Staff contact: Ronnie Goldberg

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