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The Right to Livelihood

Livelihood is defined as the means by which an individual secures the necessities of life. Therefore, the right to livelihood is both one's right to the necessities of life, and to choose how they obtain those necessities. We acknowledge the right for people to not just survive, but to sustain their families, engage in meaningful activities, and enjoy periods of rest. Furthermore, we acknowledge that all peoples have these rights and must be treated with the same respect and dignity, regardless of identity or origin, with no exceptions.

The right to livelihood is a fundamental and crucial right to address as the digital age progresses, in order to ensure that human dignity is respected in the physical and digital work spaces. We want to highlight the importance of safeguarding this right as we move into the future and continue to complicate the nature of work. Additionally, we acknowledge the evolving nature of technology and emphasize the importance of social welfare / protection in the digital era, in order to ensure workers receive support when their livelihoods are threatened by automation.

This right is divided into four sections with further specifics, which you can read by clicking the headers below.

You can find the definitions of any highlighted words in our Glossary.

This right refers to one’s freedom to engage in work, which we define as physical or mental efforts in exchange for compensation.

Everyone has the right to work, which we recognize as the opportunity to gain a living by freely chosen or accepted work. However, we recognize that it is imperative to address barriers that prevent equitable access to meaningful work. These include, but are not limtied to, economic barriers and legal systems that marginalized communities are affected by. We acknowledge that the challenges presented by the digital age will continue to change with time, and that there must be a continuous effort to ensure this right.

Everyone has the right to protection against unfair unemployment. This includes those who have been or will be displaced by technology, automation, and digital disruption.

Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable compensation which ensures for themselves and their family an existence worthy of human dignity. This compensation may be supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection, such as social welfare. (See Section 4: The Right to Live Without Work for further details.)

  1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 23
  2. International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Articles 6 + 7

This right refers to one’s claim to and responsibility for physical, technological, procedural, and any other kind of products that results from work they performed.

Everyone has the right to compensation that allows them to live with dignity and fairness relative to the work they contribute.

Everyone has the right to directly benefit from the work they perform.

Everyone has ownership over their labor, which we define as their physical, mental, or emotional effort. This ownership resides with the laborer regardless of whether they sell that labor to others (in the form of work). (See the page on Property for more about ownership rights)

All individuals, including employers, employees, and consumers, have the right to full transparency regarding how and when automation is being used in the production of goods and services. This includes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

All AI and technology introduced into the workplace should be pro-worker, working in the interest of humanity.
AI must have safeguards in place to prevent biases, unfair practices, or undue harm caused by automated decision-making processes.

Everyone has the right to a fair share of the prosperity, benefits, and profits generated from any labor put towards the development, advancement, or functioning of AI and automation.

Everyone has the right to work without automation if they so please and deem unnecessary to obtain optimal productivity.

  1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 23
  2. International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Articles 6 + 7

We suggest that, when possible and with individual permission, everyone should be acknowledged and credited for their labor. This would ensure clear ownership over labor and allow all workers to have proof of their contributions if desired.

This right refers to one’s enjoyment of beneficial conditions and surroundings, whether physical, mental, social, or otherwise, regardless of any inherent characteristics. This right includes fair and adequate compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, and equal opportunities for career advancement.

We recognize inherent characteristics as any of the following:

  1. Race
  2. Color
  3. Sex
  4. Gender
  5. Language
  6. Religion
  7. Political or other opinion
  8. National or social origin
  9. Property
  10. Birth or heritage
  11. Sexual or romantic orientation
  12. Ability or disability
We also recognize that this list will likely grow in the future.

Everyone has equal rights to all possible conditions and forms of work. We recognize that different forms of work will inherently confer different benefits and challenges, but it is the right of each individual to choose which form(s) of work they wish to apply themselves to.

We recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favorable conditions of work, including in the context of technological advancement, which ensure, in particular:
  1. Compensation which provides all workers with a decent living for themselves and their families
  2. Fair wages and equal compensation for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, with equal pay for equal work
  3. Safe and healthy working conditions
  4. Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in their employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of seniority and competence
We recognize the right of every individual to access and engage in technologically facilitated work opportunities, ensuring the opportunity to earn a livelihood through freely chosen or accepted work.
The right to technological work opportunities should be exercised without discrimination of any kind, ensuring equal access and treatment for all individuals.

  1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 23
  2. International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Articles 6 + 7

We urge states to undertake to guarantee that the right to work will be exercised without discrimination of any kind. The right to work may be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law only in so far as this may be compatible with the nature of these rights solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic society.

This right refers to one’s basic living conditions and ability to not just survive but thrive, regardless of work.

As mentioned in Section 1: The Right to Work, everyone has the right to an existence worthy of human dignity. If someone is not currently working, their living conditions must be supplemented by social welfare to ensure said dignity.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure. This includes reasonable limitations of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Everyone has the right to time away from work to assist in the raising or care of children that they are responsible for. If this time is not paid for, then the family's livelihood and well-being must be secured by social welfare.

Social welfare must provide enough aid such that everyone utilizing said welfare enjoys the following:

  1. Clean, drinkable water
  2. Nutritious food that matches their dietary and/or cultural needs
  3. Shelter and living conditions that enable the occupant to stay healthy and safe
    1. This standard will vary depending on physical location. For instance, someone in a colder climate would require heating in their shelter, whereas someone in a tropical climate likely would not.
  4. Access to emergency medical aid
  5. Access to basic preventative medical treatments, such as vaccines
Everyone who qualifies for social welfare has the right to know that they qualify and to receive assistance in accessing said welfare.

  1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 24 + 25
  2. International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Articles 9, 10, 11 + 12

We suggest that, when possible, people who wish to return to work should be supported in doing so. We suggest that governments develop programs to assist individuals in returning to the labor market, such as supporting job application efforts or subsudizing an education that allows them to perform a new kind of labor.

We suggest that local governments take responsibility for tracking who qualifies for which social welfare programs. We suggest that governments contact individuals as soon as it becomes obvious that they could qualify for a social welfare program, and offer to assist individuals with performing the actions necessary to enroll in that program. We suggest that it is not the fault of an individual if they struggle to seek help.

We suggest that the benefits of social welfare programs should not be removed until it becomes obvious that an individual and their family will continue to have the same standard of living as they maintained with the help of the program.
For example, some disabilty aid programs are calculated based on household income. If an individual with disabilities gets married, their spouse is now counted within their household. This situation could result in the disability aid being revoked, even when the disabled individual would be greatly impacted, such as in the instance where the spouse's income cannot support the disabled individual's medical treatments.

How Did We Get Here?

The following is a non-comprehensive timeline of the past, present, and potential future of work and labor. It takes a global perspective, though it will inevitably be U.S.-centric by nature of our own bias. We urge any readers to take this as a jumping-off point and encourage you to do your own research.