European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2006, Age and employment in the New

Member States, EF/06/73/EN, website: www.eurofound.europa.eu

It seems that, in Central and Eastern Europe, career openings for staff aged over 50 years are becoming increasingly limited even though the number of Europeans in this age bracket is increasing.  There are number of reasons why employers in Central and Eastern Europe are not minded to give work opportunities to older workers.  However, the loss of this age group to the workforce represents a permanent and certainly premature demise of experienced human capital.  The costs of this loss, to both business and society, are borne in the form of higher expenditures on social services, unemployment benefits and health care in Central and Eastern Europe.

This study, entitled “Age and employment in the New Member States”, focuses on the issue of an ageing workforce in Central and Eastern Europe.  It was published by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in 2006 and aimed to understand better of the views of central governments and the wider public on the improvement of the employment prospects of older workers in Central and Eastern Europe.

The study also strove to propose the development of policies relating to the labour markets, social services, taxation, training and the work environment in Central and Eastern Europe whilst identifying and presenting examples of organisational initiatives aimed at fostering active ageing through approaches to recruitment,job design and training.  Finally the report provides guidance for possible future strategies in the field of age management in Central and Eastern Europe.

National strategies for active ageing

In examining the extension of working life at the national level in the New Member States of Central and Eastern Europe, the report concludes that the subject does not seem to be a priority of governments.  The reason offered by participants in the study for his state of affairs was that “more important challenges” such as economic transition and EU legislation harmonisation take priority.

Organisational level tactics

Organisations in the New Member States of Central and Eastern Europe have also given the issue of the ageing workforce scant attention.  Since labour supply in Central and Eastern Europe generally exceeds the demand for labour, employers are often able to select from a pool of talent and usually select younger people due to their (perceived) higher level of skill, greater adaptability and their (real) lower wage demands.

The authors report that they found only a few measures instigated by corporations in Central and Eastern Europe which positively targeted the older workforce.

Policy recommendations

The study recommends the following action at the level of governments in Central and Eastern Europe:

·   Trades Unions, together with employer organisations, should undertake a more proactive role in increasing awareness of the need to extend working lives of the over 50s.

·  Communication and coordination between governments and companies should be improved throughout Central and Eastern Europe.  Perhaps by establishing a body that whose task is to focus in the issue of the issues facing an aging workforce in Central and Eastern Europe.

·  Simply raising the statutory retirement age will not be an adequate measure for furthering the integration of older people into the labour market in Central and Eastern Europe.