FRANCE The

Figure 11: Average age of workers leaving the labour market
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
63.2 63.2
62.2
64.5
60.9
61.7
UK SE FIN P A NL L I IRL F S GR DK G B
consists of a reduction of the legal age of retirement to 58 to enable
those who have been unemployed since the age of 55 and have a taxpaying
career of 30 years to retire without deduction. (This measure
will be introduced from March 2003).
The new Social Security Law, approved in January 2002, foresees the
implementation of a partial retirement scheme allowing for a gradual
staging of the retirement process.
In addition, the first stage of the EES saw the implementation of
various training measures aimed to increase the overall standard of
education of the Portuguese population. These are also seen to
contribute towards active ageing. As mentioned above, many
Portuguese workers do not have formal qualifications, but have skills
acquired over the course of their working life. The accreditation of
such learning is the role of the ANEFA (Angência Nacional para a
Educação e Formação de Adultos). In relation to lifelong learning
and assistance for restructuring, programmes are also available
targeted at unemployed workers and those threatened by
restructuring. These measures are equally open to older and younger
workers.
5. Evaluation
The evaluation of the implementation of the EES in Portugal shows
that there are few indicators, which allows for the evaluation of the
measures set out above. The figures quoted in the table below
provide information on the number of individuals taking up the
various options under the reform of the pension system. From these
figures, it is clear that the number of older workers who have opted
to leave the labour market over the legal retirement age is
significantly lower than that of those who have chosen to retire
early, thus showing an adverse effect on the behaviour of older
workers from that intended (Table 2).
Table 2: Number of workers who chose early retirement
Pensioners 1999 2000 2001
57.5
With reduction 6389 16252 21969
With benefits 14 157 280
* Values until September Source: CNP
60.4
Spring 2003 | European Employment Observatory Review 139
64.3
58.7
61.4
60.4
63.6
61.6
58.1
Trends
Source: European Commission
6. Conclusions
The threshold of the third millennium is marked by greater
longevity and the extension of active careers. There is no doubt that
older workers will play an important role in the labour market in
years to come in order to make up for declining birth rates. However,
in order to achieve this, the employability of older workers, who
possess, on average, only a low level of education, needs to be
significantly improved. At the same time, the potential and value
presented by older workers in the workplace needs to be better
recognised across the European Union.
Older workers possess many important skills which younger
workers do not have, such as strategic and holistic thinking, capacity
of reflection, commitment and loyalty. Despite this, the majority of
enterprises continue not to involve the workers in the processes of
reorganisation. The policies of early exit from the labour market
cannot continue to be seen as a long-term solution, due mainly to
the demographic restrictions that Portugal will have to deal with in
the coming years. What is required is a more holistic view of
employment across the lifecycle to allow for early intervention to
ensure a limited reduction of capacity due to health and safety
issues and training to combat low productivity. The involvement of
the social partner in these processes is vital, particularly if the
current trend towards relocation to countries with cheaper
production costs is to be stopped. Portugal must begin to compete
on the basis of quality and a well-educated and skilled workforce
rather than on the basis of price if its economy is to prosper.
Finally, it may also be desirable for Portugal to implement more
effective anti-age discrimination legislation to ensure recruitment is
based on ability rather than age. Currently, the vast majority of
vacancy announcements define the age of admissible candidates,
which is usually fixed at around 35 years.
Helena Miranda & António Caetano
This article was prepared on the basis of information available on 14 February
2003.