MTUC welcomes Minimum Retirement Age Bill

Posted on June 16, 2012, Saturday

KUCHING: Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) welcomes and fully supports the Minimum Retirement Age Bill in Parliament to set the retirement age for employees in the private sector to at least 60 years.

In a media statement yesterday, MTUC secretary Andrew Lo said Malaysia had one of the lowest retirement age and amongst the highest life expectancy in the world.

“Singapore, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand and even Brunei have extended the retirement age to between 60 and 65.”

Lo said with Malaysia’s life expectancy at almost 76 coupled with a declining birth rate, it was projected to become an aged nation sooner. Among others, he said setting minimum retirement age to 60 would boost public finance through tax collection. He reasoned that if people worked longer they would pay taxes longer. More Malaysians were marrying and having children at a later age, he said, meaning at age 55, they would still have to support their children who would be still studying.

“Allowing employees to continue working longer (on similar terms and benefits) will increase household income and reduce poverty.

“Currently, 82 per cent of EPF contributors do not have enough savings to survive above the poverty line during their retirement. This can be drastically reduced if retirement age is increased to 60.”

Lo also argued that increasing retirement age would not deny younger persons from entering the workforce.

It should be noted that work done by a mature worker might not be the same as that done by youth or a graduate, he said.

“A graduate accountant would not want to take over the work of a 55-year-old labourer.”

He added that studies and experiences worldwide found no evidence that increasing the employment of older persons would reduce the employment opportunities of youth.

Though Malaysia had an issue with unemployed graduates, he said this was caused by mismatch in qualifications and the needs of the industry, and not by increased retirement age.

On the notion that Malaysian workers nearing retirement age ‘are deadwood’, he said it was very insulting to claim that those aged 54 and above were old, sick, unproductive and problematic.

He stressed that age had nothing to do with productivity and efficiency.

“A worker may be unproductive whether he is 30, 50, 54 or 56 years old. Older workers are generally as good as younger workers.

“They show less absenteeism, lower turnover, fewer accidents, higher job satisfaction and more positive work values than younger workers.

“They are less prone to work-related injuries, substance abuse and lifestyle health issues.”


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