Desk research on the national context Estonia

This country report has been prepared in the framework of the project ‘Social partners together for digital transformation of the world of work. New dimensions of social dialogue deriving from the Autonomous Framework Agreement on Digitalisation’ (TransFormWork VS/2021/0014).

Table of Contents

1. Historical Trends and Development of Digital transformation in partner country. 2
1.1. The structure of economy in Estonia. 2
1.2. Recent developments. 3
1.3. Forecasts and the future developments. 4
2. National framework of digitalization and collective bargaining. 8
3. The role or social partners. 10
3.1. State of play on the main issues, arranged by the FAA on Digitalisation. 10
3.2. Challenges and opportunities faced by social dialogue deriving from the digital transformation of the world of work. 11
3.3. Examples of good practice. 12

1. Historical trends and the development of digital transformation in the partner country

• What is the national structure of the economy?
• Development of digital transformation in recent years
• What are the forecasts for the future?

 

1.1. The structure of the economy in Estonia[1]

Estonia is a small, advanced economy, mostly influenced by EU and Scandinavian trade partners. GDP was EUR 27 billion in 2020, and will reach EUR 30 billion in 2021, which is around EUR 22,600 per capita. Estonia has only 1.3 million inhabitants, and the exporting of goods and services accounted for around 70% of GDP in 2020.

Estonia had the second highest activity rate in the EU in 2019 among the population aged 20-64, with unemployment being less than 5%, despite the work ability reform in 2018 that made an assessment of ability to work by the Unemployment Insurance Fund mandatory in order to receive support for reduced work ability. Active labour market measures are focused on career advice, upskilling and reskilling. A major emphasis is placed on language and basic IT skills.

Structure of enterprise. There are 137,000 companies in Estonia. Only about 40,000 of them have more than 1 employee, and only 7000 have 10 or more employees. In Q1 2021, the 5% of companies with 10 or more employees paid 75% of taxes and employed around 65% of the work force.

There has been a strong focus on ICT in Estonia since the restoration of independence. The impact of digitalisation has been stronger in public services and lags a bit in the private sector, especially in SMEs.

Some facts about digitalisation:

• High-technology and the knowledge-based service sector account for 4.8% of employment, which is 6^th highest in the EU.
• ICT sector value added was 5.4% of GDP in 2018, which was 5^th highest in the EU.
• ICT specialists accounted for 4.3% of total employment in 2018, which was 3^rd highest in the EU. The share of all ICT sector employees reached 7.1% of the labour force in Q1 2021.
• A total of 62% of the population has basic or above basic ICT skills, which matches the average EU level.
• Digitalisation:
  • Only 26% of Estonian enterprises use an ERP system in communication between different departments and business lines, whereas the EU average in businesses is 36%.
  • A total of 80% of individuals have used the Internet in past 12 months for communicating with public authorities.
• There are 31 start-ups per 100,000 inhabitants (3^rd in the EU).

 

Overall, the manufacturing industry accounts for the largest part of the economy. The manufacturing industry employs 18% of the labour force and accounts for 14–15% of GDP (see Table 1). Labour productivity in manufacturing is lower than the European average and the issue is being tackled largely through innovation and digitalisation. According to a survey conducted by Enterprise Estonia in 2020, 64% of industrial enterprises surveyed had computer-controlled machines, while 36% did not^[2]. A third of the respondents said that their company collects and analyses data. Sensor technology was used by 22% of the companies surveyed. Drones are used by 15% of the industrial enterprises surveyed. Digitalisation and automation of production processes is more prevalent in large companies.

The second largest sector, retail and wholesale trade, accounts for 13.5% of value added and 13% of the labour force. Today, most retailers have launched their own online shops and have adopted self-service checkouts.  Information flows are largely digitised and integrated (ERP systems, etc.).

The ICT sector itself accounts for 8.6% of GDP and nearly 5% of the labour force. The greatest challenge for the sector is finding new people to recruit. For this reason, ICT companies often expand to other Eastern European countries and elsewhere.

Table 1. Economic structure by industrial breakdowns of GDP and employment (Eurostat 2020)

***	% of GDP		% of employment
Activity sector:	Estonia	EU[3]	Estonia	EU
Total – all NACE activities	100	100	100	100
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.2	1.9	2.9	4.5
Industry (except construction)	18.6	19.4	20.1	16
Manufacturing	14.4	16.2	18.2	14.4
Construction	6.4	5.7	8.0	6.5
Wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food service activities	20.7	17.8	23.3	24.1
Information and communication	8.6	5.4	4.8	3
Financial and insurance activities	4.9	4.6	1.8	2.3
Real estate activities	9.2	11.4	1.7	1
Professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities	9.5	11.1	8.5	12.5
Public administration, defence, education, human health and social work activities	17.3	19.8	23.2	24
Arts, entertainment and recreation, etc.	2.5	3.0	5.7	6

1.2. Recent developments

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on economies and lives around the world. Fortunately, the negative impact on the economy is not as uniform as in the financial crisis of 2008-2010. As in many other countries, the ICT sector has actually seen strong growth during the pandemic. Exports of digital services have experienced strong growth in recent years, accounting for around 12-13% of total exports in 2020. The share of people employed in the ICT sector has increased from 4.8% in 2015 to 7.1% in the first quarter of 2021[4].

In addition, digital technology also suddenly became even more important for people working in other sectors. Nearly 200,000 employees, or about a third of the labour force, transferred to telework in Estonia in the second quarter of 2020, while the usual level is approximately 7%[5]. Nearly 90% of employees would like to see a permanent increase in the share of telework[6].

Data from the Labour Force Survey[7], collected during the emergency situation, shows that professionals (67.9%) and managers (57.2%) made the most use of teleworking, while the use was significantly lower among mid-level specialists (41.5%) and office workers (25.8%).

In a comparison of activities, teleworking was used the most by those working in information and communication (82.4%), finance and insurance (75.5%) and professional, scientific and technical fields (68.7%)[8].

The biggest increase in the share of people working remotely was in education: 19.5% in the previous year compared to 56% during the first wave of the coronavirus[9].

1.3. Forecasts and future developments

Estonia’s economy is projected to recover rapidly in 2022 and beyond (see Table 2), with unemployment expected to fall. Previous structural problems, such as a significant labour shortage, ageing society and inadequate funding for social services, will once again become more prominent than the health crisis.

Table 2. The general economic forecast (European Commission in March 2021))

Indicators	2019	2020	2021	2022
GDP growth (%, YoY)	5	-2.9	2.8	5
Inflation (%, YoY)	2.3	-0.6	1.6	2.2
Unemployment (%)	4.4	6.8	7.9	6.3
General government balance (% of GDP)	0.1	-4.9	-5.6	-3.3
Gross public debt (% of GDP)	8.4	18.2	21.3	24
Current account balance (% of GDP)	1.9	-1	1.9	1.7

Currently, the emphasis has been placed on acceleration of digitalisation, both in the private and public sectors. Digitalisation is one of the priorities of all national strategies, European funding (ESF RRF, etc.) and Estonian government budgets. According to the Council of the European Union, country-based recommendations should focus on investment in the green and digital transition, in particular on the digitalisation of companies in Estonia in 2020–2021[10].

Education Strategy 2021-2035[11] targets:

• The plan is to provide 100% of basic school graduates with basic ICT skills, up from 83% today.
• A total of 60% of the population aged 16-74 should acquire digital skills above the basic level, up from 35% today.
• Digitalisation of methodology of teaching and learning (target levels to be developed)

There are no specific digitalisation targets in the Research and Development, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategy[12]; however, the whole strategy is horizontally based on or supporting digitalisation and contains specific activities, such as:

• fostering automation in enterprises through the development of a roadmap for digitalisation and the financing of the investments included in this roadmap, including support for digitalisation and the adoption of AI and robotics technologies to improve the efficiency of enterprises’ processes and supply chains, and to increase the added value of products and services;
• reducing administrative burdens on businesses, including by providing public services to businesses through a single digital gateway, as proactively as possible and in line with their business developments, and by encouraging the development and implementation of the real economy;
• fostering digital commerce (e-commerce, platform economy, sharing economy) and the circular economy to improve the competitiveness of Estonian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in international trade;
• developing and expanding the e-Residency programme to invite new undertakings to do business in and through Estonia;
• continuing the implementation of the Work in Estonia programme to attract professionals needed by Estonian businesses, and developing an efficient inter-professional talent policy;
• supporting the use of the best available technologies in industrial enterprises and encouraging the adoption of business models based on modern technologies, including the diagnosis and auditing of bottlenecks and the involvement of internationally experienced experts and professionals from abroad;
• fostering the growth of exports of existing RDI-intensive products and technologies developed in Estonia and creating the conditions for the development and sale of new products and services in higher added value sectors and markets, supporting companies through quality infrastructure services and helping them to obtain the necessary certificates and marketing authorisations in the target market, encouraging cooperation and joint activities between companies to increase export volumes.

Most important digitalisation projects in the member state:

• Leveraging reuse in digital governance is a reality. A common digiriik.eesti.ee information space has been created, providing a clear overview of the development principles of digital governance and a systematically managed collection of problems and solutions for digital governance, and platforms for the reuse of ICT components have been implemented: the software selection available in the digital governance code repository has been expanded, and a repository has been created for the sharing of AI toolkits and other reusable technical components.
• The aim for 2021 is to draw up a new national AI/machine learning plan and to continue implementing the plan in the coming years.
• By the end of 2022, the KrattAI strategy will be adopted in at least five government authorities.
• Implementation of activities in accordance with the established Open Data Action Plan 2021–2022 and Data Management Action Plan 2021–2022.
• To ensure the sustainability of digital governance, we coordinate the use of the state budget as well as EU funds (SF and RRF) to secure funding for the IT developments that are important for the state and to provide a boost for digital transformation. A major focus in 2022–2023 will be on developing implementation schemes for EU funds (SF 2021–2027; RRF until 2026) and on establishing coordination routines. A number of state-wide reforms will be launched, including a new level of public digital services (making services holistic and proactive) and a new level of digital infrastructure, including a secure digital cloud.
• We will update the national concepts for cyber security management and for resolving cyber incidents. Based on these concepts, we will supplement the Cybersecurity Act and other legislation and regulatory documents setting out the roles, responsibilities, tasks and cooperative relationships of authorities and organisations.
• We will raise situational awareness of cyber security trends, threats and impacts and develop the capacity to create adequate cyber security measures. To this end, we will systematise the R&D processes on cyber security and will commission the necessary analyses and studies.
• We will adopt a new cyber and information security standard and improve our capacity to implement security measures. We will create a system of metrics to monitor and measure the level of national cybersecurity.
• One of the outcomes of smart development of existing and new information systems should be increased satisfaction with public services among citizens and businesses. This is to be achieved, among other things, through the introduction of proactive government services, which will also include the development of eesti.ee and integrations of the State Budget Strategy 2022–2025 and the 2021 Stability Programme. Seventy-five integrations with the rest of the government’s databases and services. In addition, support will continue to be provided for the development of public services and basic infrastructure, and for the interoperability of public services.
• Active development of proactive government services will be launched, based on the roadmap for the development of proactive government services agreed in September 2020, with the first developments planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2021. A total of 14 proactive government services have been agreed under the roadmap and 9 of these services will be developed in the period 2021–2025.
• The introduction of better public service management, including measurement and monitoring, will continue. This will be done by developing a common service standard for the design, development, management and measurement of services, by further developing the knowledge and skills of service managers and owners, and by creating and providing tools for service owners to manage the services, including by improving user-friendliness of the national central directory of services.
• The support measure for passive broadband infrastructure for access networks concluded with Elektrilevi in 2018 will be completed, which should provide 40,016 addresses in rural areas with access to a high-speed access network (EUR 11.6 million) by the end of 2023.
• State support will be used to establish the first continuous 5G transport corridors and 5G areas in residential and industrial areas.
• Additional support measures will be launched to support the establishment of access networks in the failing areas of the market.

2. National framework of digitalisation and collective bargaining

• Legislation, strategic documents, institutional framework, opinions of national social partners, collective labour agreements, etc.

Generally, collective bargaining on the company or sectoral level is quite rare in Estonia and most work life issues and related matters are regulated in law. Only around 4% of employees are members of trade unions and the coverage is concentrated in specific public sector jobs (teachers and medical workers) and transport. There is a trade union for the service employees of two big telecom companies, but no trade union in the ICT sector representing ICT specific jobs. There is a collective agreement at the confederation level to adopt the European Social Partners Framework Agreement on Digitalisation. The members of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation have also responded in the survey that they would prefer most of the social dialogue to take place at the level of central unions and the government[13].

Collective bargaining is mainly regulated by the Collective Agreements Act[14].

The most important strategies on digitalisation at the national level are ‘Estonia 2035’[15], ‘Estonian Digital Society 2030’ (to be approved in 2021), the Research and Development, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategy 2035 (TAIE), and the Education Strategy 2021–2035. The general targets partially related to digitalisation in these strategies include:

• Labour productivity is 110% of the average of the 27 European Union Member States.
• R&D expenditure in the private sector is 2% and in the public sector 1% of GDP.

Estonian digital society 2030[16] targets:

• Based on the vision, the main objective of digital society development in the next decade is increasing Estonia’s ‘digital power’: gaining the best experience for digital governance, providing ultra-fast internet for everyone, and ensuring safety and credibility of our cyberspace.

As a result, satisfaction with public digital services among individuals and businesses is expected to rise from 69% in 2020 to 90% in 2030, availability of high-speed internet from 47% to 90%, cybersecurity rating from 58% to 100%, and credibility should be maintained at 96%.

• Satisfaction with public digital services should rise from 47% among businesses and from 69% among private individuals in 2020 to 90% in both groups by 2030.
• The share of households and businesses in Estonia with access to at least 100 Mbps internet, which can be upgraded to 1 Gbit/s, is expected rise from 58% in 2021 to 100% by 2030.
• Cybersecurity: minimising the proportion of 16-74-year-olds who have not interacted online with public authorities or service providers in the last 12 months due to security risks.

National strategies and development plans are generally reflected in government action plans, but do not always necessarily deliver results. Business organisations therefore have an important role to play in both designing development plans and ensuring their implementation.

The most visible manifestations of digitalisation in the context of employment are probably the expansion of teleworking opportunities and the increasing need for digital skills. Teleworking is regulated in the Employment Contracts Act[17] and the employer-employee liability for teleworking is specified in the social partners’ agreement on teleworking, on the basis of which the Ministry of Social Affairs has also drawn up a guide on teleworking[18].

In Estonia, several studies have been carried out on forms of work facilitated by digitalisation (platform work, telework, etc.):

• Heejung Chung. Future of work and flexible working in Estonia. The case of employee-friendly flexibility, 2018[19].
• Johanna Vallistu jt. Analüüs ‘Tuleviku töö – uued suunad ja lahendused’ [Analysis. ‘Work in the future – new trends and solutions’], 2017[20].
• The Foresight Centre has carried out a series of studies, with a focus on the future of work:
  1. Platvormitöö Eestis 2021 [Platform Work in Estonia 2021][21].
  2. Understanding Virtual Work. Prospects for Estonia in the Digital Economy, 2018[22].
  3. Tööturg 2035. Tööturu tulevikusuunad ja -stsenaariumid [Labour Market 2035. Future Labour Market Trends and Scenarios], 2018 [23].

A good overview of digitalisation can be found in:

• European Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)[24]
• IMD Digital Competitiveness Ranking[25]

3. The role of social partners

• State of play on the main issues, arranged by the FAA on Digitalisation
• Challenges and opportunities faced by social dialogue deriving from the digital transformation of the world of work
• Examples of good practice

3.1. State of play on the main issues, arranged by the FAA on Digitalisation

On 29 March 2021, the social partners agreed on an Estonian social partners’ action plan for the implementation of the European Social Partners Framework Agreement on Digitalisation. According to the agreement, the Estonian Confederation of Trade Unions and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation recognise the European ‘Framework Agreement on Digitalisation’ and consider it applicable in Estonian conditions. The social partners will discuss the implementation of the action plan at bilateral meetings and, if necessary, supplement it with new actions. The partners will report to the European Social Dialogue Committee on the implementation of the agreement on the Framework Agreement on Digitalisation.

The social partners discussed the possibilities for implementing the Framework Agreement at a bilateral meeting on 4 February 2021, and decided to draw up the following action plan:

• Joint activities:
  1. Adaptation of the 2017 telework agreement[26].
     • The partners will collect and discuss members’ opinions in September 2021.
     • Setting up of a joint working group in September 2021.
  2. Discussion/agreement on the right to disconnect in October 2021.
  3. Funding/promotion of digital training in the Unemployment Insurance Fund in April 2021[27].
  4. Participation in the working groups on national policy development (ongoing activity):
     • Council for Adult Education;
     • Supervisory Board of the Unemployment Insurance Fund;
     • OSKA Coordination Council[28].

• Estonian Trade Union Confederation
  2022. Google project: helping employees adapt to digitalisation and process management – 2021-2022.
  2023. Discussion of the Framework Agreement on Digitalisation at the annual autumn conference of the ETUC to identify possible implementation actions in sectoral and company level collective agreements – September 2021.
• Estonian Employers’ Confederation
  1. Mapping the needs, opportunities and impact of the digital transformation, and making relevant recommendations for 2022 to employers and the government.
  2. Digital transformation activities in working groups.

As of June 2021, the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, for example, together with the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications, has organised a 4-part series of workshops on the ‘Practical Digital Journey of a Company’[29] for business leaders who want to take their production or service provision to the next level with the help of digital technologies. We also contributed to the design of a national support measure for the creation of a digitalisation roadmap[30] for businesses. Previously, we carried out a project to provide business leaders with basic digitalisation skills[31].

The Estonian Employers’ Confederation has spent a great deal of energy on the adequate design of the national mitigation measures for the COVID19 crisis and the REACT-EU, Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), as well as other European measures with a similarly strong emphasis on digitalisation.

3.2. Challenges and opportunities faced by social dialogue deriving from the digital transformation of the world of work

The primary challenges posed by digital technologies are likely to be the rapid growth of inequality and the digital gap, with many enjoying the benefits of digital services and skills while the rest of society lacks the ability to take advantage of them. For more qualified people and more innovative employers, digital technology creates new opportunities to earn and become more competitive. It is becoming increasingly difficult for people without basic digital skills and for companies not investing in digitalisation to stay competitive. At the same time, digital technology also creates better opportunities for lower-skilled people to participate in training, find and apply for job vacancies, work remotely, etc., if they so wish. For employers, digitalisation creates opportunities to reduce labour intensity and increase efficiency. Trade unions and employers can sometimes have different views on possible solutions to the problems. Employers believe that transfers/subsidies can only play a temporary role in reducing inequalities and increasing competitiveness. Subsidies should be channelled towards skills and innovation, including digitalisation, rather than compensating for income disparities.

The second major, and more practical, category is the set of problems associated with the rise of teleworking. Employers find it harder to maintain organisational culture, control and team spirit with remote workers. Employees complain more about communication barriers, stress and confusion regarding working and rest time. In addition to working time, there is confusion over the allocation of tools, resources and responsibilities between employee and employer.

According to a survey,[32] the following have been identified as the disadvantages of ICT-based telework, which are also likely to be encountered by the social partners in their dialogue:

• the risk of blurring the boundaries between work and family life, and the stress this can cause;
• the risk of overwork;
• the risk of increased social isolation;
• the occasional risk of increased control by the person providing the work;
• the risk to the employees’ health, if employees do not manage their own working conditions;
• the potential for losing control over the time an employee devotes to work;
• security risks;
• a potential loss of the sense of unity within the organisation;
• management requires more energy and attention;
• the person providing the work cannot verify that health and safety requirements are being met.

The following have been identified as the key weaknesses and threats of digitalisation of industry[33]:

• The key challenge in the Estonian economy remains the digitalisation of companies. Although most companies use automated data exchange for receiving orders from customers and use two or more social media platforms, e-commerce in companies could be improved.
• Regarding connectivity, fixed broadband coverage is very low (partially compensated by mobile coverage), as is the take-up of ultrafast broadband.
• Estonia’s performance in the supply and demand of digital skills shows significant room for improvement because of poor ICT skills among employees.
• A substantial number of companies encounter problems finding skilled employees.
• Lack of awareness and the knowledge of necessity to take up digital technologies and their benefits among managers/owners of companies.
• Lack of corporate strategic planning.
• The regulatory framework in Estonia still needs to be reviewed and adapted to the digital age.
• Many pillar-specific initiatives have been launched only within the last year. Their real impact still needs to be seen.
• Companies are slow to embrace digital technologies due to a lack of use cases, success stories and lighthouse projects.

Thus, most of the challenges related to digitalisation concern the communication of digital skills, the need and opportunities for digitalisation, and regulatory gaps. Most of these can probably also be addressed in social dialogue at the level of central unions.

3.3. Examples of good practice

This subsection highlights some good practice examples of social partners working together on digitalisation and modern industrial relations.

The first example is the drafting of a telework agreement and manual. The Occupational Health and Safety Act[34] places the responsibility for creating and ensuring a safe working environment for health on the employer in all cases, but in practice it is almost impossible for employers to ensure safe working conditions outside their own place of business. However, working in home offices, cafés, libraries and elsewhere using digital tools is becoming more common. On 25 May 2017, the Estonian Employers’ Confederation and the Confederation of Estonian Trade Unions signed an agreement on teleworking which, among other provisions, set out the principles for ensuring occupational health and safety in the case of teleworking. On the basis of the social partners’ agreement on telework, the Ministry of Social Affairs has prepared a manual[35] for flexible implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in telework situations. The content of the manual was seen by employers as an optimal compromise until the coronavirus crisis, but the much more widespread use of telework in 2020 resulted in the resurfacing of certain questions that have perhaps not been adequately addressed in the telework manual. This includes, for instance, a reasonable division of working time, rest time and home office costs, where the current law allows for one or the other solution, but where either employers or employees have asked for more clarity.

The social partners also cooperate in the OSKA Coordination Council and the Supervisory Board of the Unemployment Insurance Fund. OSKA is a skills and labour demand forecasting system where a group of experts and analysts assesses the future demand for specific skills and specialists, and the adequacy of current training supply. As early as 2016, OSKA’s results indicated that the greatest areas of shortage in Estonia include various digital skills and ICT specialists.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund has also invested heavily in recent years in active labour market measures and in making the skills needed on the labour market more accessible. The share of clients of the Unemployment Insurance Fund participating in training or other qualification raising services was 70% in 2019 and 67% in 2020. The total number of people participating in training funded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund was 106,000 in 2019 and 111,000 in 2020[36]. A total of 11% of all unemployed participants attended a training on digital skills.

Among other things, the social partners agreed in 2017, working in the Supervisory Board of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, on commencement of financing to prevent unemployment[37]. The services to prevent unemployment include: 1) support for participation in formal education for a worker or a registered unemployed person who is taking up vocational training, higher vocational education or higher education in an undergraduate programme; 2) labour market training for workers who are at risk of unemployment and have a training card; 3) qualification support service for workers who have completed training using labour market training or training support facilities; 4) training support for employers to develop the knowledge and skills of workers in taking up employment and adapting to changes in the employer’s business. In order to prevent unemployment, the employee or the employer can receive financial support for attending a training course included on the list of the Unemployment Insurance Fund or for participating in formal education. A total of 4% of workers who wanted to prevent unemployment opted for digital skills training in 2020.

From 2021, the Unemployment Insurance Fund will additionally compensate up to EUR 2500 per employee, if the employer sends the employee to digital skills training.

[1] Statistics Estonia and Eurostat have been used as sources throughout this chapter.
[2] https://www.eas.ee/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/T%C3%B6%C3%B6stuse-digitaliseerimine_aruanne-Tootmisprotsessidejuhtimisedigitaliseeriminet%C3%B6%C3%B6stuses.03.2020.pdf
[3] 27 countries from 2020 (Eurostat 07.06.2021)
[4] Statistics Estonia and The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI): https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/desi.
[5] https://www.stat.ee/et/uudised/koroonakriisi-tulemus-200-000-kaugtoo-tegijat, 21.06.2021
[6] https://turundajateliit.ee/89-tootajatest-soovib-tulevikus-jatkata-osalise-kaugtooga/
[7] https://www.stat.ee/et/uudised/koroonakriisi-tulemus-200-000-kaugtoo-tegijat, 21.06.2021
[8] https://www.stat.ee/et/uudised/koroonakriisi-tulemus-200-000-kaugtoo-tegijat, 21.06.2021
[9] https://www.stat.ee/et/uudised/koroonakriisi-tulemus-200-000-kaugtoo-tegijat, 21.06.2021
[10] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1591720698631&uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0506
[11] https://www.hm.ee/et/kaasamine-osalemine/strateegiline-planeerimine-aastateks-2021-2035/eesti-haridusvaldkonna-arengukava, 18.06.2021
[12] https://www.hm.ee/et/TAIE-2035, 18.06.2021
[13] Inaugural survey of the Norway Grants-funded project ‘Social Partnerships and Flexible Labour Relations’, April 2021.
[14] https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/518062018002/consolide/current,
[15] https://valitsus.ee/strateegia-eesti-2035-arengukavad-ja-planeering/strateegia, 18.06.2021
[16] Approval of ‘the draft: ‘Estonian Digital Society Development Plan 2030’, https://eelnoud.valitsus.ee/main/mount/docList/e00fb8a2-9c4b-42b6-b424-7e320949db98, 18.06.2021
[17] https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/112072014146?leiaKehtiv
[18] Both the manual and the social partners’ agreement are available as of 21.06.2021 at: https://www.tooelu.ee/et/131/tooohutus-kaugtool.
[19] https://www.riigikogu.ee/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Employee-friendly-flexibility.pdf
[20] https://skytte.ut.ee/sites/default/files/skytte/tuleviku_too_lopparuanne.pdf
[21] https://www.riigikogu.ee/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021_platvormitoo_uuring.pdf
[22] https://www.riigikogu.ee/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Virtual-work-size-and-trends_final1.pdf
[23] https://www.riigikogu.ee/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/tooturg_2035_tooturu_tulevikusuunad_ja_stsenaariumid_A4_veeb.pdf
[24] https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=66911, 30.06.2021
[25] https://worldcompetitiveness.imd.org/countryprofile/EE/digital, 30.06.2021
[26] The telework agreement was concluded to clarify responsibility for health and safety in telework situations. While the employer is responsible for safety and working conditions in the workplace, the manual states that, when working remotely, the employee is responsible. The employer has a duty to inform and consult the teleworker about possible risks.
[27] Peep Peterson, the head of the Estonian Trade Union Confederation, was the chairman of the Unemployment Insurance Fund from May 2020 to April 2021, and Arto Aas, the CEO of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation, holds the position from May 2021.
[28] OSKA – a project running since 2016 for analysing the needs for labour and skills necessary for Estonia’s economic development.
[29] https://itl.ee/toostus-4-0/digiteekond/
[30] A digitalisation roadmap is a strategic document for a company to assess the impact of digitalisation, the investments needed to achieve the objectives, their cost-effectiveness, and the timeframe. The digitalisation roadmap highlights the bottlenecks in technological processes and the terms of reference for tackling at least one of those bottlenecks. https://www.eas.ee/teenus/digiteekaart/
[31] DigiABC project – ‘Estonian Information Society Development Plan 2014-2020’ has set the target of reducing the share of non-users of computers and the internet to 5% by 2020. The DigiABC project supports the achievement of this target and provides an opportunity to acquire digital literacy, which in turn supports people of working age becoming members of the information society and increasing their individual competitiveness and the competitiveness of sectors that are important for the Estonian economy.
[32] Vallistu jt. Analüüs ‘Tuleviku töö – uued suunad ja lahendused’ [Analysis. “Work in the future – new trends and solutions”], 2017: https://skytte.ut.ee/sites/default/files/skytte/tuleviku_too_lopparuanne.pdf, 21.06.2021
[33] Monitoring Progress in National Initiatives on Digitizing Industry. Country report. European Commission, 2019.
[34] Occupational Health and Safety Act, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/522042021002/consolide, 21.06.2021
[35] Both the manual and the social partners’ agreement are available as of 21.06.2021 at: https://www.tooelu.ee/et/131/tooohutus-kaugtool.
[36] The size of the economically active population in Estonia’s labour market was 687,800 people in 2019 and 689,900 in 2020.
[37] https://www.tootukassa.ee/content/teenused/toota-ja-opi, 21.06.2021.