A basic human right - to work and contribute to society

In February, The Department of Human Affairs published a request for Expressions of Interest for the job of assisting Government in its review of the Human Rights Act. This review will be quite extensive regarding both the Human Rights Act and the workings of the Human Rights Commission.

One gap in our present Human Rights Act is any protection according to 'age' at a time when our population is rapidly ageing, so it is important to look at the subject of age discrimination and what we can do to address it.

Bermuda is not alone in having an ageing population. Greatly improved health care means that more people are living longer in most countries.

The number of seniors in Bermuda will double by the year 2030, growing from 11 percent to 22 percent of our population. Even more significant is the growth in our senior dependency ratio, that is, the number of seniors to the number of people working. It will grow from approximately 6:1 in 2000, or six seniors to each working-age person, to approximately 2:1, or two seniors to each working age person by 2030. This figure does not include dependent children.

Such rapid growth in the dependency ratio affects every man, woman, and child, and this is why we call it an ageing population. It also means we have to re-think the way we live and do business in Bermuda, and starting with age protection under the law is a very good beginning.

Age discrimination takes place in many areas, but some types of age discrimination are more obvious than others. Anyone who has tried to get a mortgage after the age of 50, or health insurance after the age of 60, has no doubt experienced clearly defined policies and rules that discriminate according to age.

We talk about the importance of life-long learning, but most scholarships that are offered have an age limitation. Then there is age discrimination when renewing a driver's license when, in fact, most accidents are caused by young males.

Overwhelmingly, age discrimination is most visible in the workplace — in older worker retention, training and, last but not least, recruitment. As a result, the United Nations approved its first International Plan of Action on Ageing in 2002, requiring all member states to have anti-age discrimination legislation regarding employment practices and vocational training in place by 2006.

In the United Kingdom, The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into effect in October 2006. These regulations outlaw age discrimination in work and vocational education, including all further and higher education.

While employers and policy makers are measuring the impact of the new regulations, potential benefits from reduced age discrimination include skills and knowledge retention (skills and knowledge are known as a company's Corporate DNA), greater depth of organisational stability, reduced training and recruitment costs, and better staff morale as older workers are no longer 'written off' simply because they reach a certain age.

At a time when we are living longer without age discrimination protection under the law, and employment practices have yet to catch up with our changing demographics, the worker must ask, "How am I going to fund a retirement that might last for 30 years?" And the employer must ask, "Who is going to fill these jobs when the baby-boomers retire?"

The time has come for us to take an active interest in Government's initiative to review the Human Rights Act, and ensure that it complies with our basic human right to live a full and productive life — whatever our age.

Marian Sherratt is Executive Director of the Bermuda Council on Ageing