Brussels, 26/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - Demographic changes, an ageing population and keeping senior citizens on the job market are subjects of interest to all political parties. On 20 September, under the chairmanship of Philip Bushill-Mathews (a British Conservative who has just been elected EP rapporteur), the Intergroup on Ageing at the European Parliament held a discussion on demographic changes.
During the exchange of views, Noora Heinonen (Finnish Permanent Representative) underlined the fact that the participation of the elderly on the labour market depended in part on the “wellbeing of personnel” when at work and that “active ageing is an opportunity not a problem”. Gerlinde Ziniel (Dublin Foundation for the Improvement of Living & Working Conditions” said that ageing demanding new working, training and care practices. Lorena Ionita (European Employers, Unice), emphasised the inter-generational approach as the only way of improving how the labour market worked as well as the vocational cycle as mentioned in the Commission's Green Paper on demographic change. Bart de Steur, president of the AGE platform “change the mentality of employers and employees regarding employment of older workers”. Henri Lourdel (European Confederation of Trade Unions (ETUC), asked how the current situation where 50% (the 55 year olds and older) of the population is kept out the labour market, was going to be rectified. Presenting some of the “preventive” responses: 1) taking into account the work of women and maternity leave was necessary; 2) an inter-generational approach; 3) immigration policy that could appropriately manage a certain number of workers from other countries. European Commission representative Robert Strauss presented the Commission's employment recommendations: discouraging early retirement and introducing financial incentives that assured real quality of life in the workplace, making lifelong training and apprenticeships accessible to all, strengthening social at work etc. One participant indicated that in France, “1,400,000 of those over 50 were seeking work”.
In his conclusion Philip Bushill-Mathews pointed out that up to 2010, 50% of workers aged over 55 should be working, as in accordance with the Lisbon Objectives. He added that: policies had to recognise individual needs and develop a variety of solutions. He explained that they needed more jobs but also an optimistic mentality as an ageing population was a problem confronting society as a whole”.