Unions should dedicate more attention to older employees who could be vulnerable to exploitation due to their tight financial situation, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said yesterday.
“If we are not careful enough, we might end up in a situation where people of a certain age who would like to continue working even after reaching retirement age would become vulnerable to abuse,” she said.
The President noted that the ‘working poor’ were the most prone as they required additional income apart from their pension to be able to make ends meet.
Ms Coleiro Preca made the appeal during a conference on active ageing held by the National Trade Union Forum at Verdala Palace. The forum was set up last year with the intention to bring unions closer together to address social issues.
The President said more recognition should be given to old employees, noting that their workplace experience was an invaluable asset to both colleagues and employers. She said unions could play an important part by fostering a cultural change at the workplace.
Gerontologist Marvin Formosa gave an overview of the employment situation in Malta and future trends. He said that in eight years’ time the world population of those aged 65 years and over would outnumber children under five years. Such uncharted territory would pose new challenges for policymakers, he warned.
Dr Formosa noted that, in 2012, Malta featured in the penultimate place among the 27 EU-member states at the time in terms of those aged 55 and over who were still in employment, according to an active ageing report by the EU and the United Nations.
A study by the Employment and Training Corporation in 2008 had indicated that redundancies, poor working conditions, business difficulties, poor health and marital separations were the main causes of such a low participation rate.
Malta fared better in terms of ‘social participation’, ranking 15th and 17th for ‘independent living’ in the EU-UN study. Its overall classification in the active ageing index was in 19th position.
Dr Formosa said a higher work rate participation of people aged 55 and over could be achieved through lifelong learning, better sensitivity for their needs, positive discrimination, specialised employment services and more fiscal measures.
On the other hand, he questioned early retirement schemes rolled out in recent years by the government, saying these had sent mixed messages on active ageing.