Extension of private sector retirement age gets go-ahead from the government
After dilly –dallying due to some concerns of employers, the government is mulling to extend the retirement age of private sector employees up to 60 years providing the same opportunity given to public sector workers, a senior cabinet minister said.
Labour Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne recently told the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) meeting that the government is ready to discuss and settle any issues and grievances of employers in implementing this decision as the private sector employees should be given the option to work beyond the present retirement age of 55 years.
The NLAC has reached an agreement to conduct a comprehensive study on the national retirement age of employees with the help of the International Labour Council (ILO) and arrive at a decision after considering the ILO recommendations and suggestions.
However representatives of the Employers Federation was of the view that the unemployment in the country could be increased fuelling youth frustration by extending the private sector workers retirement age to 60 years, a trade union representative who attended the meeting told the Business Times.
One of the major concerns of employers was that non-productive employees will be legally allowed to continue their services with its consequent benefits, he disclosed.
This will also hinder the opportunity of junior executive grade officers to get promotions to high posts in many private sector firms, a representative of the Employers Federation informed the NLAC meeting.
He reiterated that the private sector is paying more attention on efficiency of employees and therefore extending the retirement age to 60 years will affect the productivity of private firms.
Representatives of trade unions have brought to the notice of the council that many employees are urging their company management to provide an opportunity for them to continue their work beyond 55 years due to economic difficulties.
But the management of private firms was in the practice of employing some of those workers on contract basis after 55 years of age and employers can terminate their services at any time in accordance to their wishes, they said.
The employees’ retirement life could be longer than their working life as average life expectancy in Sri Lanka now exceeds 75 years and the government’s responsibility is to secure their future, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told the Business Times.
He said that the retirement age of public and private sector employees should be increased to 65 years as the country is going to face an aging problem in the near future.
Sri Lanka has an aging population and the time has now come to make the legal retirement age 65 years so that all employees are treated equally before the law, he emphasised adding that it is essential to consult stakeholders and review the present retirement age limit of private sector employees fixed at 55 years which is very low for a country with life expectancy of 75 years.
The government sector employs about 1.3 million workers while the private sector employs over six million workers.
According to the Department of Census and Statistics data, the percentage of employees over 56 was 7.6 per cent , while percentages corresponding to age groups of 18 – 29 years and 30 -55 years are 15 per cent and 77.4 per cent, respectively.
This data indicate that at least over 70 per cent of workers will reach the retirement age within the next 25 years.