Is mandatory retirement ageistic?

Abstract

The 1982 Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing recognised that a major aim of society should be the elimination of any form of discrimination present in the labour market especially discrimination based on age. Moreover, it also acknowledged that all older workers should enjoy equal access to orientation training and re-training. Unfortunately in many cases these aims have not been reached as is manifested by the relationship between elderly persons and employment. Thus society has to ensure that employers, employment counsellors and society in general are educated about older workers' capabilities. Moreover, measures should be taken to assist older persons to return or stay in employment not only through the creation of more job opportunities but also by facilitating training or re-training and promoting life-long learning. Chronological age should never be used as the sole judge of whether an individual is able to perform work, but the right to employment should be simply based on one's performance. This dissertation investigates whether the ideas behind mandatory retirement are the result of ageistic influence and thought. The hypothesis of this study is that mandatory retirement is the result of the way older workers are depicted through the construction of stereotypes, prejudices and generalisations. In order to test this hypothesis a sample of people aged 18 and over from the Maltese population would be taken, that would lead to the examination of the attitudes and beliefs of the Maltese population through the use of a structured interview. The results have indicated that people, who favour mandatory retirement, do this on the basis of ageistic assumptions. Results also suggest that to a certain extent age, occupation and the educational level influence the perception towards mandatory retirement. Moreover, a majority of the population under study have indicated that once they reach retirement age they would like to continue working either with reduced hours or else with a part-time format