RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL

of 29 June 1995

on the employment of older workers

(95/C 228/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Whereas demographic changes are causing the job situation of older workers to become a matter of concern in most European countries;

Whereas those changes will have major economic and social consequences for expenditure to improve the functioning of the job market, the financing of retirement pensions and the balance of the age pyramids within undertakings;

Whereas Governments, social partners and undertakings should anticipate those changes by placing emphasis on, for example, part-time work, the adjustment of working conditions and vocational training throughout the working life;

Having regard to the action already put in hand by Member States in those areas notably in order to eliminate any obstacles to the employment of older workers,

Whereas certain early retirement schemes have resulted in several Member States in instability for older workers who have received compensation under varied and changing schemes, and have led to a loss of know-how in undertakings; whereas abolition of official early-retirement schemes would not stem the spate of ever earlier withdrawals from the job market observed in certain Member States;

Whereas many Member States have introduced phased retirement schemes, thereby enabling the changeover by older workers to part-time work to be offset by recruitment of persons in difficulty on the job market and young workers;

Whereas the organization of work must take into account productivity requirements;

Whereas it is important to take account of the availability of financial resources, national priorities and balances within national systems;

Whereas account should be taken of specific national unemployment and demographic situations;

Whereas older, experienced workers also contribute to the necessary competitiveness of undertakings, including small and medium-sized undertakings;

Having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament of 24 February 1994 on measures for the elderly in the European Community (1),

Having regard to the conclusions of the Essen European Council on 9 and 10 December 1994, and in particular to the conclusions concerning employment,

I. UNDERLINE THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES:

1. The demographic trend towards ageing of the working population has already prompted national measures in this area but necessitates increased efforts to adjust the conditions in which workers in the latter part of their working lives work and are vocationally trained, taking account also of the competitiveness of undertakings.

2. Older workers must benefit from adequate resources and from measures to prevent their exclusion from the labour market.

In this respect, due account should be taken, in pay systems, of workers' experience and, in general, the best possible use should be made of professional experience.

II. CALL ON THE MEMBER STATES AND/OR THE SOCIAL PARTNERS, ACTING WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE SPHERES OF COMPETENCE, TO:

3. Encourage work to be organized in a way which allows the jobs of older workers to be adapted and makes the best possible use of their experience. It is necessary in particular to:

(a) continue the improvements in taking account of the requirements of workers, including older workers, with regard to health and family life;

(b) continue the efforts made by undertakings to ensure that working conditions make allowance for the specific needs of older workers, especially where they have spent their careers in arduous jobs;

(c) foster mobility within undertakings, by means also of continuing vocational training, for workers in the latter part of their working lives, whose careers should evolve towards tasks which they find more congenial and suitable and which make better use of their experience;

(d) implement appropriate support arrangements for workers for whom vocational training may be the starting point for a new career;

(e) promote in accordance with national laws and/or practice the combination of periods of work, vocational training and, if necessary retraining.

4. Endeavour to ensure, in accordance with national legislation and/or practice, sufficient resources for older workers, inter alia:

(a) by providing compensation for the growing number of older workers who have lost their jobs;

(b) by financing early retirement, if necessary by means of schemes which safeguard the rights acquired by workers during their working lives.

5. Make use of early retirement taking into account acquired experience, in accordance with national practice, for example by:

(a) making more use of internal flexibility measures, inter alia with regard to working hours, for further restructuring of undertakings in the context of seeking to be competitive and getting people back to work;

(b) striving to gear, where appropriate, early retirement schemes in particular to workers who have spent long careers in arduous jobs, or as an accompaniment to mass lay-offs.

6. Facilitate phased retirement, for example by developing for olders workers the possibility of part-time work and activities making good use of their skills, while ensuring that workers in comparable situations receive equal treatment in principle, in particular as regards access to social protection.

III. CALL ON THE SOCIAL PARTNERS TO:

7. Develop continuing vocational training, which is the best means of encouraging workers to adapt to changes in technology and production methods and support the initiatives taken in this field, in accordance with the Council recommendation of 30 June 1993 on access to continuing vocational training (1).

8. Implement, at the appropriate level, measures designed to meet the specific needs of older workers:

(a) ensure that suitable teaching methods are used in vocational training programmes for older workers;

(b) encourage tutoring both inside and outside undertakings, including small and medium-sized undertakings, and also honorary appointments, whereby experienced workers can participate in the training effort by passing on their know-how to young workers, for example via apprenticeship schemes.

IV. CALL ON THE MEMBER STATES TO:

9. Take appropriate measures, based on the requirements of the different labour markets, to:

(a) eliminate any legal and administrative obstacles to the employment of older workers;

(b) make employers aware of the individual or collective consequences of dismissing older workers;

(c) facilitate the return to work of the older long-term unemployed through aid for recruitment and through genuine vocational retraining;

(d) reinforce the efforts of the bodies in charge of placement policy to retrain and reintegrate the older unemployed;

(e) where the State acts as employer, give positive examples of getting older workers back to work and keeping them in work.

V. CALL ON THE COMMISSION TO:

organize, in liaison with the Member States, an exchange of information, experience and good practice concerning the employment of older workers, on the basis of existing Community programmes.

(1) OJ No C 77, 14. 3. 1994, p. 24.

(1) OJ No L 181, 23. 7. 1993, p. 37.