Ageism concerns must be addressed

IRELAND’S elderly population needs to fight plans to extend the retirement age unless concerns over ageism and training for older people in the workplace are addressed, according to a new report.

Employers in Ireland are nearly bottom of the league when it comes to recruiting people over the age of 50, the launch of the Older and Bolder report heard.

An OECD report in 2006 found Ireland was among the worst for employing people over the age of 50.

Author and Professor Des O’Neill said yesterday that employers were doing themselves double damage by failing to train the ageing workforce which in turn reduced long-term productivity and profits.

The report warns of the danger of extending the retirement age in 2014 without a commitment to develop age friendly practices and eliminate prejudice against older workers in the workplace.

“Employers have not yet woken up to the fact that they’re doing themselves a double injustice. They’re not taking on board people who have a lot of wisdom and strategic thinking and they’re laying patterns which are going to affect the economy and the country,” said Prof O’Neill.

Support group Older and Bolder is calling for changes in the workplace for older workers, including moderating workloads, introducing ‘micro breaks’, as well as promoting regular exercise in leisure time.

The alliance group includes a number of NGOs, such as the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, the Carers Association, the Irish Hospice Association and the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament.

The Government’s National Pensions Framework (NPF), published in March, plans gradual increases in the qualifying age for the state pension.

Alliance director Patricia Conboy said: “We agree that people who wish to work longer, or who wish to work longer but flexibly, should be facilitated to do this. However, the NPF does not address the workplace changes that are needed to accommodate late working and flexible working and this concerns us.”

Prof O’Neill, who carried out the report for the group, said: “Older people should fight against those changes being implemented until new practices are in place.”

The alliance of elderly support agencies want changes to workplaces addressed by groups such as Fás, the Industrial Development Authority, universities, employer group IBEC as well as trade unions.

The launch also heard how Ireland was one of the few countries that had yet to implement a key UN action plan on ageing.

Prof O’Neill pointed out that legendary musician Leonard Cohen, 75, had made over €9 million touring last year while British leader Winston Churchill in his 70s had steered his country through World War II.