Eurofound - Social Partners Lunch Debate: 'Keeping older workers in the labour market: quality of working life policies'

23 April 2013, Brussels, Belgium

Organisation: Eurofound Brussels Liaison Office
Venue: Restaurant l’Atelier, 28 Rue Franklin, 1000 Brussels

According to demographic projections by Eurostat, the population of working age is set to decrease by 50 million by 2060. The need to increase the employment rate of older workers is one of the key issues of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Although the employment rate in the 55-64 age group has risen during the last decade, the increasing share of older workers in European populations and the associated strain on the sustainability of national welfare and pension systems have increased pressure for reforms designed to encourage longer careers.

Objectives

The objective of the lunch is to discuss the developments of active ageing policies within the context of continuous crisis and pressing demographic challenges the European labour market has been experiencing over the past years.

The discussion will focus in particular on some policy factors and approaches at national or sectoral level taken by governments and social partners in order to keep older workers in the labour market especially through the improvement of working conditions. It will be based on the new report Role of governments and social partners in keeping older workers in the labour market, and on findings from the latest Eurofound research on sustainable work and workplace age management.

Content

Eurofound Deputy Director Erika Mezger will open the lunch. Oscar Vargas and John Hurley, researchers, will introduce the debate. They will give insight into the policy measures that have been developed in the Member States, including examples of good practice in workplace age management during recession. They will also highlight some elements of the EU level current debate on the issue.

Fritz von Nordheim Nielsen, Deputy Head of Unit Social Protection and Activation Systems, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission, will comment on the Eurofound report and contribute to the debate with the social partners.

Participation is by invitation only.