On 28 February, AGE Platform Europe sent in its contribution to the preparation of the Committee of the Regions’ Opinion on the Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative: “An Agenda for New Skills and Jobs: a European contribution towards full employment” (COM(2010) 682 final). The rapporteur on the Opinion is Mr. Denis Landy, Member of the ECOS Commission of the Committee of Regions.
Older workers are one of the groups most affected by the current austerity measures and public cuts that national governments are making in response to the economic crisis. Yet at the same time, an increased number of older workers are needing to continue to work in paid employment for longer to compensate for their reduced retirement income owing to the financial losses they suffered in the crisis. In its policy contribution, AGE therefore focuses on the need to remove the obstacles that impede older people from participating in the labour market and to actively address the age discrimination they face in employment.
Effective measures are needed to:
- Promote a better image of older workers and fight age-related stereotypes and discrimination in the work place;
- Support solidarity and cooperation among workers of all ages’
- Set common targets for reducing older people’s unemployment, taking specific categories of workers into account such as older women, older migrants and older people from ethnic minorities;
- Implement new forms of work-life balance adapted to older workers with caring responsibilities.
AGE contribution is available here
