On 4 June 2025, stakeholders from across Europe gathered in Brussels for a conference hosted by UNI Europa and Connect Europe, the European social partners in the telecommunications sector. The event brought together trade unions, employers and policymakers to discuss – based on a report on eleven emerging technologies – how social dialogue can accelerate sustainability and digital transformation in the telecommunications sector.
Oliver Roethig , Regional Secretary of UNI Europa , kicked off the conference with a call to action: “It our task as social partners to ensure that the twin transitions – digitalisation and green – is sustainable, fair and just.”
His remarks were mirrored by Alessandro Gropelli , Director General of Connect Europe , who emphasised the long trends in the sector, which has lost half its jobs over the past years: “When I started my job, disruption was a positive word. But some companies win from disruption and some lose. In our sector, Europe has allowed global tech monopolies to take over the market.”
Keynote speaker Franca Salis Madinier from French union CFDT-Cadres emphasised: “The predictions on Artificial Intelligence’s impact on jobs vary widely. But through social dialogue, we can involve a maximum number of workers in the transition to minimise the risk of unemployment.”
Annick Starren from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) explored the digital transition’s impact on the health and safety of workers: “Change will be coming – but the pace of change is really what determines health outcomes. And it is coming faster than we expected. We therefore campaign to raise awareness about the risks – whether they are psycho-social or physical – and promote risk assessment.”
Greta Pozzo from Visionary Analytics presented the key find ings of the UNI Europa and Connect Europe joint project on accelerating sustainability in telecommunications (AST). Her team’s report identified eleven key emerging technologies that are expected to have an impact on social and environmental sustainability, such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Quantum Technologies. The report underlines both opportunities and challenges stemming from the deployment of such new technologies, with a focus on their impact on sustainability and on skills and the labour market.
Industry insights and interactive dialogue
A morning panel on anchoring sustainability in social dialogue featured Florian Feillet who spoke about Orange’s net-zero strategy: “Scope 3 emissions related to the supply chain equate 81 per cent of the telecoms carbon emissions. Our strategy is to put in place circular economy programmes in order to avoid emissions through production of new equipment such as smartphones.”
Marijo Kožić from Croatian union and UNI affiliate HST addressed the need for social dialogue to address the digital transition’s challenges: “We need all stakeholders – trade unions, employers and the government – to get around the table to discuss the introduction of new tools in the sector and the need for education for our members and society at large.”
Lina Nardone from Digital SME concluded with a presentation about ICT sustainability, emphasising the importance of skills, education and innovation.
ESG and joint commitments
The afternoon panel, moderated by Paolo Grassia from Connect Europe, tackled how social dialogue can drive ESG outcomes. Elke Maes from UNI affiliate ACV-Puls said: “We thought sustainability was a matter for environmental organisations, not for us as unions. But we came up with a strategy what we want to achieve until 2040. We defined multiple things we need: training, union strategy, data, social dialogue.”
Jana Kovandzic-Pataky , Senior ESG Expert at A1 Group, shared practical insights from the company perspective: “It is important for us to understand the data, that’s a big part of our work at the company level.”
Sigurt Vitols (ETUI) made a strong case that worker representatives – especially at the level of European Works Councils – need to be involved in the process to ensure that ESG reporting works.
Grégory Gillet from BT Europe presented a joint social partner declaration to “pursue the responsible adoption of disruptive technologies, ensuring that the telecom sector remains a catalyst for sustainability, digital equity, and economic resilience.” He said: “This declaration isn’t just words – it’s a shared call to action,” Gillet asserted. Odysseus Chatzidis from ver.di and Rita Santos from MEO signed the declaration on behalf of UNI Europa and Connect Europe, the European social partners in telecommunications.
Ian McArdle (CWU Ireland) closed the conference with a call to urgency: “I’m struck by how quickly the industry is changing. But I’m confident that through social dialogue we can find solutions. And today was a good example with progressive trade unions and decent employers in the same room.”