Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on "1999 - International Year for Older People"

(1999/C 374/09)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the decision taken by the Bureau on 18 November 1998, under the fourth paragraph of Article 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw up an Opinion on "1999 - International Year for Older People", and to direct Commission 5 "Social policy, Public Health, Consumer Protection, Research and Tourism" to draw up the relevant opinion;

having regard to the Draft Opinion (CdR 442/98 rev. 2) adopted by Commission 5 on 22 March 1999 [Rapporteurs: Mrs Haijanen (FI/PPE) and Mr Keymer (UK/PPE)],

unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 30th plenary session on 15 and 16 September 1999 (meeting of 16 September).

1. Introduction

1.1. The United Nations has designated 1999 as the International Year for Older People. The purpose of this Year is to raise awareness of the demographic situation, to stimulate debate, to promote new action strategies, to increase the coordination between different services and to encourage research and exchange of best practice. These aims will be pursued locally, regionally, nationally, continent-wide and globally. In this connection, numerous events will be organized across the EU at European, national, regional and local level.

1.2. The population of EU countries is growing older due to falling birth rates and a simultaneous increase in life expectancy as a result of medical progress. By the year 2025 over one third of the European population will be of pensionable age. The portion of the population growing most rapidly in relative terms is the over 80 age-group, a phenomenon common to many Member States in recent decades.

1.3. Demographic changes pose a major challenge for the European Union and for Member States' regional and local governments. The main challenges for policy on the elderly include increasing the number of years during which people are healthy and active, ensuring adequate arrangements for care and assistance, providing suitable living conditions, safeguarding the incomes of older people, as well as improving the opportunities for life-long learning. Attitudes towards ageing and older people need to change. Better information can be instrumental in countering the negative attitudes in the workplace. It is extremely important for working life to adapt to demographic change and for attention to be paid to improving the employability of older workers. This would also lead to a better quality of life for older people.

The European Union and local and regional authorities must guard against regarding older people as an homogeneous group in need of social and medical care. It is important not to lose sight of the value of independence; older people who can still cope on their own should therefore be given every opportunity to make their own arrangements for pursuing an active and healthy life.

2. The main challenges for policy on the elderly

2.1. Increasing the number of years during which people are healthy and active

2.1.1. One objective of policy for the elderly is to increase the number of years during which people are active and functionally able as a proportion of the average life-span. Along with ill-health, the physical, psychological and social ability of senior citizens must also be considered. In general, people are satisfied with their lives as long as they consider themselves to be in at least reasonable condition relative to their age. Furthermore, increasing the number of years during which people are active can have a considerable effect on the overall cost of policy for the elderly. The way in which peoples' functional ability evolves will have an impact on the demand for health care and for other public services provided by regional and local authorities.

2.1.2. Physical exercise is important for staying healthy and active. It enables older people to take an active part in society. Its importance should be stressed. When older people fall ill, they must be offered prompt and effective examination and treatment, as well as sufficiently comprehensive rehabilitation. Similarly, programmes such as preventive medicine and preparation for retirement should be promoted at an earlier stage.

2.2. Adequate care and assistance

2.2.1. Many of the goods and services needed by older people are designed for use by the entire population, for example, retail, transport, health, cultural and training services. As the population ages, the need for social and health services also rises. In particular, the growth in the number of older people suffering from memory disorders and dementia increases the need for help, care and assistance. Services should be organized so that they respond to the individual needs of older people. The aim is to rehabilitate people and to treat them as out-patients rather than admitting them to residential care. In arranging care and assistance, older people should be viewed as part of a social network, which encompasses family, other close relatives, friends, neighbours and other members of the immediate community.

Some local authorities have recruited and trained staff for the specific task of providing day-to-day help to older people. The expansion of such services has resulted, among other things, in the creation of local jobs.

Services should be organised so that they respond to the individual needs of older people. To this end, the social and health services they use should be coordinated.

2.2.2. Steps must be taken to ensure that there are a sufficient number of professional carers to look after the elderly. The traditional role of the family in looking after the elderly is a key element in the social fabric of communities in Europe that needs to be encouraged by constructive measures.

2.2.3. Working life and working practices should be developed by taking advantage of new research and training and promoting special support programmes for families and other unofficial carers. The free movement of workers between EU countries presents a separate set of challenges for professional training.

In addition, liaison between voluntary groups operating in the field at local and regional level must be encouraged in view of their major potential for assisting older people in various ways. These groups also have vital know-how of the local situation and hence are equipped to pinpoint areas where there is a high concentration of older people.

2.2.4. When organising services for older people, it is important to take geographical considerations, poor communications, the absence of appropriate services, etc., into account.

2.2.5. In future the Structural Funds, and particularly the European Social Fund, should be able to provide support for schemes initiated by territorial authorities, especially as regards assistance for older people. The training of staff providing such help to dependent persons should therefore be eligible for ESF funding.

2.3. Housing, living environments and public transport compatible with the needs of older people

2.3.1. Housing policy, community planning and transport must also be considered from the perspective of older people. Indeed, decisions taken in these areas will have an impact on the substance of policy for the elderly and its cost for decades ahead. Housing needs vary during different stages of peoples' lives. One of the objectives of policy for the elderly is to ensure suitable housing for older people and for their needs. It is also important to take on board their views on land-use and house-building, and it is most cost-effective to anticipate this already at the building stage. Locating shops and other services where everyone has access to them enhances older peoples' sense of self-sufficiency. This poses a challenge for regional and local authorities, particularly concerning land use and town planning. Accessible public transport is essential to ensure that older people are able to remain active and to participate in their community.

Increasingly, when people stop working, they move permanently to another country or region of the European Union with a more attractive geographical location of climate. The regional and local host authorities must take heed of this specific situation.

2.3.2. Disability aids are one of the practical applications of the rapidly growing technological knowledge at our disposal. Disability aids can offset any reduction in the functional ability of older people and help people to continue living at home. Furthermore, they facilitate the work of those who care for the elderly. Disability aids must, however, be user-friendly.

Some territorial authorities have introduced schemes to help older people to remain in their homes. These schemes include 24-hour telephone cover to enable older people to continue to live at home and receive assistance or outside help should they need it.

In addition, provision should be made for various forms of financial aid to help persons wishing to equip their home with such aids, in the same way as already exists for the removal of structural constraints.

2.4. Safeguarding the incomes of older people

2.4.1. Adequate income is necessary for older people to be independent and self-sufficient. The general evolution of the national economy determines an economically sustainable level of pension coverage. Pension schemes must be designed so that they are compatible with an ageing population and with a rising average life expectancy. They must also enable work and retirement to be combined flexibly. For older people who are able to lead a fully active life it must to some extent be possible to opt, even after their retirement, for meaningful work from which they can also draw an income. As the population ages, an ever greater proportion of potential consumption will be by older people. Pension payments subsequently help to maintain consumption demand, which is essential for the well-being of the national economy.

2.5. Improving the opportunities for learning and participation

2.5.1. Older people should be given the opportunity to influence and participate in decision-making procedures which affect them. In addition to representative democratic channels, direct opportunities should be created for older people to participate and have an influence. It is particularly important to get service users involved in the activities of regional and local bodies. In addition, many retired people would like to work on a voluntary basis. As a great deal of active debate has taken place recently about the opportunities offered by the so-called "third sector" in combating unemployment and preventing exclusion in particular, it is important to emphasize that the work of many voluntary organisations is critically dependent upon the active contribution made by older people.

2.5.2. The rapid pace of change taking place in society increases the importance of life-long learning. In particular, the internationalisation of working life and continually evolving production and information technology make it necessary for workers to adapt quickly to the changing work environment. Similarly, working life must adapt to an ageing workforce. The employment of older workers poses a significant challenge and Member States should develop practices which prevent discrimination against older people in the labour market. These challenges are examined in greater detail in section 3.

2.5.3. The importance of older people remaining active requires local and regional authorities to make efforts to provide them with opportunities matching their expectations, such as courses, seminars or special universities for older people, in which they can analyse and pool their needs, with support from coordinating experts.

3. The labour market position of older people

3.1. The employment of older people

3.1.1. Employment rates for older people are either very low (for women) or currently declining (for men), and in both cases are much lower than either the United States or Japan. The structure of working life and underlying attitudes often favour younger, well-educated workers. People leaving employment in middle-age find considerable difficulty in returning to full-time employment. A recently published report in Britain has suggested that one third of unemployed men aged 45-50 will never work again. People often retire before their real retirement age.

3.1.2. Demographic change has challenged previous assumptions about the employment of older people. As people live longer, the trend towards shorter working lives - often the result of policy initiatives deliberately designed to favour early retirement - means that there is an ever-increasing burden on public social security systems. Furthermore, combined with falling birth-rates, a continuing early retirement culture could lead to a shortfall in the European labour market in the medium term.

3.1.3. Reversing trends towards early retirement and encouraging employers to retain or recruit older workers are vital in raising the overall level of employment in this age group and overall. There now appears to be a greater recognition of these facts amongst policy-makers, employers and the general public. Increasingly, Member States are reversing early retirement policies, whilst local and regional authorities are providing more advice, education, training and public awareness measures, in addition to being major employers in their own right.

3.2. EU policy for the elderly

3.2.1. Although the primary competence in this field rests with local, regional and national governments, the EU can play an important role, notably in the areas of stimulating new thinking and the exchange of best practice. At the European level, interest in the position of older workers was first addressed in the 1989 Charter on the fundamental social rights of workers. In its 1995 Resolution on the Employment of Older Workers, the Council of Ministers stressed two key principles, namely the need to increase efforts to adapt professional training and conditions of work to older workers' needs; and measures to prevent the exclusion of older workers from the labour market.

3.2.2. It also proposed specific measures including raising awareness among employers of the consequences of making older workers redundant, promoting the reintegration of older unemployed workers, and eliminating possible legislative barriers to the employment of older workers.

3.2.3. Until recently, subsequent statements from the Council and other institutions have not capitalised on the 1995 Resolution. However, in October 1998 the European Parliament held a successful conference on older people which highlighted the situation of older workers in the EU, and in December 1998 the Vienna Council incorporated a new guideline on older workers in the Employment Strategy to help "older workers to increase their participation in the labour force."

3.2.4. The Employment Strategy also encourages lifelong learning, an important component of any strategy to increase employment of older people by enabling them to up-date their skills to cope with evolving work processes.

3.2.5. The Amsterdam Treaty contains a new clause (new Article 13) to combat discrimination on the basis of age. This will be followed up by a new directive, which is expected to be published soon after the Treaty enters into force.

3.3. Dissemination of good practice

3.3.1. Primary competence concerning employment rests with the Member States, and local and regional administrations. The single most important contribution that the European Union can provide in this field is probably to facilitate the exchange of good practice in employing older workers.

3.3.2. As a large employer, local and regional authorities can themselves promote good practice in their own operations and administration. Government at local, regional or central level can also promote good practice in many other ways:

- through funding (e.g. wage subsidies; lifelong learning; training courses and grants, etc.);

- by providing services that do not exist elsewhere (e.g. by providing vocational and further training; careers guidance; assistance with job search and interview-training; social support and counselling; and support for start-up enterprises and self-employment);

- by enforcing regulations (e.g. anti-discrimination legislation);

- by encouraging organizations to comply with best practice (e.g. publicity campaigns to improve attitudes towards older workers and to counter myths and stereotypes; provide employers with information about the employment of older workers and examples of best practice).

3.3.3. The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions considers that good practice in the employment of older workers consists of combating age barriers (whether official or inherent) and providing an environment in which each individual is able to achieve his or her potential without being disadvantaged by their age. Some initial conclusions can be drawn from case studies gathered by the Dublin Foundation, mainly from the private sector. As a local employer, local and regional authorities can also apply these practices within their own organizations in several ways.

3.3.4. Corporate culture: there are several "economic" reasons why senior management should support the retention and recruitment of older workers: prevention of skill shortages and retention of acquired knowledge (older workers have accumulated experience and best practice that would be lost to the organisation if they were to leave prematurely); maximising recruitment potential (by benefiting from the widest possible pool of potential recruits); benefiting from lower staff turnover rates (reduces the cost of repeated recruitment campaigns); promoting diversity in the workforce. Encouragement from senior management can resist and overcome negative attitudes towards older workers that can exist at all levels in an organization, and can be one of the most crucial factors in this context. Through accountability mechanisms (e.g. equality action plans and age auditing) senior management can ensure that corporate age policy objectives are effectively implemented. It is clear that without the backing of senior management, good practice will not take root in an organization.

3.3.5. A supportive human resource environment: The human resources department is the guardian of good practice and can ensure that this is applied through supporting measures, especially in terms of recruitment (removal of age requirements), job design (e.g. flexible working), career planning, training policy (to help older workers adapt and to increase age-awareness in other staff) and phased retirement programmes. Attitudes towards older workers can be a major obstacle, so personnel departments and unions should work together to inform employees and management about ageing and the "economic reasons" for retaining/recruiting older workers and their particular needs, and how to combat prejudice against older people.

3.3.6. Commitment from older workers: Older workers must be prepared to adapt to a changing work environment, and new working practices, just as employers should take their needs into account. For example, older workers must be prepared to be trained or retrained to update their skills or acquire new ones, the employer can help by consulting these workers in designing training programmes to suit their older employees' needs. In some cases, older workers may need to be flexible with regard to the content and quantity of work, the division between work and leisure time and the transition to retirement.

3.3.7. Implementation can be best achieved through: open communication with staff and their representatives; consciousness-raising among line managers; staged implementation; regular monitoring and evaluation (workforce profile; recruitment profile; training take-up).

4. Conclusions : The regional and local dimension and older people

4.1. The levels of government closest to the citizen, in other words regional and local government, have an important role to play in promoting a spirit of active involvement, social participation and economic activity among citizens of all age groups and building solidarity between the generations.

With this in mind, an ideal opportunity for reinserting older people into active life is to use them as instructors to train young people in employment so that society can reap the benefit of the ideas and experiences they have accumulated over many years in work.

4.2. EU Member States should draw up strategies for the elderly at the regional and local level, aimed at identifying the needs and measures to be taken concerning the work, income, housing, care, assistance and participation of older people. It is important for older people themselves, and all those who work with them, to play a comprehensive role in devising such strategies. Regional and local authorities in the Member States could collect examples of good working practices in services for the elderly, and exchange these by means of networking.

At the same time, close coordination should be maintained between local and regional authorities on the one hand, and national authorities on the other.

4.3. EU policies should pay as much attention to the needs of the older section of the population as they do to those of other population groups. The impact of policies on the position of older people should be evaluated more effectively than at present. In addition, the EU should draw up an action plan encompassing the regional and local levels, which addresses issues relating to ageing.

4.4. There is a clear value in establishing good-practice networks on the employment of older people within and between Member States. Local and regional authorities across the EU have a wealth of good practice to offer. A great deal could also be learnt from large employers in the private sector. Nevertheless, good initiatives are taking place at local and regional level through the EU, but they are not getting the visibility they deserve to enable other authorities to benefit from their experience.

4.5. Therefore the COR proposes drawing up a vademecum of good practice in employment of older people in local and regional government as a constructive and lasting contribution towards the UN International Year of Older Persons.

4.6. The COR opinion on the Fifth R& D framework stressed the need for research into the ageing population. The new programme includes a dedicated research programme for the elderly and people with disabilities. More information on and research into care for the elderly is needed, not least to cope with dementia and depression-related illnesses. The local and regional authorities can play a considerable part in helping to boost this necessary research.

Brussels, 16 September 1999.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Manfred DAMMEYER