Age Okay

Exploring the options

Contacts

Unions and employers can explore ways of doing things such as:

Council of Trade Unions, Helpline 0800 MY UNION (0800 698 6466), http://union.org.nz/

• Focusing on performance, not age

Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, http://www.eeotrust. org.nz/

• Making sure physical requirements are relevant to the job

Human Right Commission, http://www.hrc.co.nz/

• Focusing on the result, not how it is achieved • Changing management culture to value skills and experience

NZ Labour Department, http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/ NZ Retirement Commmission. http://www.retirement.org.nz

Sources and further reading

• Educating managers to include and consult with workers

Valuing Experience – a practical guide to recruiting and retaining older workers. Top Drawer Consultants. 2008.

• Not assuming that all older workers are alike

McGregor, Judy. Lifeswork – Celebrating Older Workers in New Zealand. Human Rights Commission. 2005

• Providing equal access to opportunities

Rights Age discrimination in employment is unlawful under the Human Rights Act 1993 and this applies to everyone aged 16 years and over.

It is illegal to discriminate in advertising, shortlisting or access to normal workplace benefits such as training and promotion.

Job applicants do not have to provide their age.

Older workers may ask about their entitlement to flexible work if they care for dependants.

Workers do not have to retire at any specific age such as 65 years and an employer cannot force them to retire.

What is important to me is to be kept informed so I can make my own choices, not to be told that because I’m older I can’t do things.

Georgina Kerr, review officer for the Education Review Office, PSA delegate, PSA runanga and executive board member.

Wilson, Marie and Jordan Kan. Barriers to entry for the older worker. University of Auckland Business School. 2006 McGregor, Judy and Lance Gray. Older Worker Employment Transition. Massey University, Palmerston North. 2003.

McGregor, Judy and Lance Gray. Mature Job Seekers in New Zealand. Massey University, Palmerston North. 2001.

Age: Why? UK Department for Work and Pensions in partnership with Trade Unions. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/ age-positive/ The Working Patterns of Older Workers (Summary). NZ Department of Labour. http://dol.govt.nz/publications/ research/working-patterns/working-patterns-summary.pdf

AGE

Okay!

Unions promoting skills and experience

Work culture leaner and meaner.

George Taylor, 66, train manager, Masterton — RMTU George has worked for rail for over 45 years. He enjoys his work, although it is more demanding than it was.

‘I think the whole work culture has changed. You’ve got managers now that have never worked in rail. It’s become a leaner, meaner machine. Dealing with the public is very hard at times.

Maturity and experience has helped a lot. You understand people better. You mellow a lot.’

How do you keep ‘em?

We’re individuals, too.

Georgina Kerr, 63, review officer for Education Review Office, Auckland — PSA

Marie Habowska, 48, staff nurse and radiology nurse, Wellington — NZNO After 14 years in neonatal intensive care, Marie studied to add radiology to her nursing career. Now she works one day with neonates and three in radiology.

‘The study was hard, but I needed a change. Neonatal intensive care is rostered and rotating shift work and as an older worker I’m less able to do that. I really love it.

I’ve got the skills. So how can clinical work be enabled for an older worker with heaps of experience? How do you keep ‘em?’

Alongside challenging work Georgina is also a union delegate, convenor of the PSA runanga and a PSA executive member.

She believes that older workers bring experience and institutional knowledge to the workplace. ‘They can train, mentor and alleviate risks for new workers.

Employers should offer support, such as regular health and eye checks, and courses to help with the transition between work and retirement, while remembering that not all older workers need them or wish to reduce the size of their jobs.’

An ageing population, a falling

Moving to retirement

Unions, the best advocates

birthrate, skills shortages

In order to keep experience and skills in the workplace employers and workers need to explore together how to make work more attractive for workers nearing retirement and how to smooth the transition between full time work and retirement. Few people want to go straight from full time work to retirement.

Unions can help older workers to stand up for their rights. They can support informal negotiations for more responsive workplaces. They can also include in bargaining the need to:

Like all workers, older workers want to have: • Quality part-time work • Flexible working arrangements • A low-stress work environment • Their experience needed and wanted • Good pay • The chance to make a difference • Challenging, interesting and varied work • The ability to take extended leave and then return

• Make training and career progression available to all workers

and low productivity create a corresponding need among employers for the skills, qualities and experience of older workers; yet a failure to acknowledge the changing demographic, along with age stereotyping and discrimination, sometimes gets in the way.

• Include experience-related skills in job-competencies, such as mentoring and dealing with older clients

• Consult with workers and be inclusive • Make available a range of flexible options, including reduced hours • Promote an active work-life balance policy • Run an effective health and safety programme

Do employers expect to keep us older workers or will they simply import skills? What is the plan really?

With younger workers coming on you can probaby explain things in simpler terms than what managers can because you’re doing the job and they’re not and I think that’s important.

Marie Habowska, staff nurse and radiology nurse.

George Taylor, train manager.