Retirement changes simply recognize basic human rights
Editorial

The Province
June 3, 2007

You might have missed it behind the barrage of headlines about our MLAs awarding themselves a fancy new pay raise. But the ending of the current B.C. legislative session also saw an historic milestone in social legislation.

As they pocketed their gold-plated pension packages, the politicians also approved amendments to the B.C. Human Rights Code, outlawing mandatory retirement at age 65.

B.C. had been behind the trend on this issue -- Quebec ended age-related discrimination in 1982. But the timing for this province could not be better.

In the current economic boom, a shortage of skilled workers threatens to limit severely B.C.'s ability to make the most of its opportunities.

Seniors' minister Ida Chong has estimated a need to fill more than one million vacancies over the next decade. Naturally, not all these jobs will be filled by senior citizens. But at least older workers will not be forced into early retirement against their will.

The new law, to take effect Jan. 1 next year, recognizes a dramatic shift in provincial demographics -- people are living longer and staying healthier.

Their skills and experience offer an unrivalled pool of expertise, as the Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors' Issues noted last year.

In its report, the council boldly declared: "The vast majority of older people are not finished being productive at 65, and it is inappropriate to have laws suggesting otherwise."

That there is an appetite among older people to stay on the job is evident from the news that Simon Fraser University is to immediately abolish mandatory retirement for its faculty. Eleven of 21 professors turning 65 this year say they want to stay.

We suspect that this is a much higher percentage than among the general workforce.

Experience in other provinces suggests no more than six per cent of employees will choose to work beyond 65.

The change to the law will have a profound effect on employers, too, who could be lumbered with "deadwood" workers who refuse to quit.

Available evidence suggests, however, that the kinds of employees who wish to continue are generally the most highly productive. And wise employers will want to offer incentives to keep them.

But the bottom line to this new legislation is that is it more than just about filling jobs. It is an overdue recognition that age is no barrier to full participation in society.

© The Vancouver Province 2007