The nascent European policy towards older workers: can the European Union help the older worker?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/00483489710172088 |
| Published date | 01 August 1997 |
| Date | 01 August 1997 |
| Pages | 293-306 |
| Author | Frank McDonald,Margaret Potton |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
European policy
towards older
workers
293
The nascent European policy
towards older workers: can
the European Union help the
older worker?
Frank McDonald and Margaret Potton
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Introduction
This paper examines the development of the European Union (EU) policy
towards older workers in the light of the diversity (that exists across the
member states) of their policy and legal frameworks towards older workers and
in terms of the impact of demographic changes on their economies. It also
considers how the emerging EU policy relates to the debate on the appropriate
methods that should be used to combat age discrimination. The data for the
paper have been gathered from reports and papers from the institutions of the
EU and from academic studies and reports. In order to provide a theoretical
basis for an evaluation of the appropriateness of the emerging EU policy, use is
made of economic models that examine discriminatory behaviour in labour
markets. In market-based economies the heart of the debate about the need for
(and the effectiveness of) anti-discrimination policy is concerned with the
existence and extent of market failure. Neo-classical theory tends to regard
market failure (in competitive labour markets) as relatively unimportant.
Therefore, systematic discrimination is not considered to be a significant
problem. However, economists who favour proactive equal opportunities
policies tend to regard market failure as widespread – even (or especially) in
competitive markets. The EU tends towards an equal opportunities view with
regard to the operation of labour markets. The paper assesses the implication of
the adoption of an equal opportunities approach by the EU for the employment
practices of companies.
Background
There is a diversity of experience in the member states with regard to the
impact of the demographic changes and also in the use of policy and legislative
frameworks that affect older workers.
The demographic situation
Most west European countries have birth rates that will ensure that their
population will decline in the next two decades. In the rest of the world only
Japan is in a similar position to the EU in terms of the ageing of population[1].
The demographic problem is dramatically illustrated by the position of
Germany – in 1990, 34.1 per cent of the population was aged 50 or over and by
2020 it will be 47.1 per cent. The increase in the UK will be somewhat less – Personnel Review, Vol. 26 No. 4,
1997, pp. 293-306. © MCB
University Press, 0048-3486
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