Conditions of work and employment for older workers in industrialized countries: Understanding the issues (2006), Conditions of Work and Employment Series No.15, by N.S. Ghosheh Jr., S. Lee and D. McCann
In many countries around the world there is growing recognition of changes in the structure of populations. While primarily affecting industrialized countries, trends in many societies clearly indicate that, as life expectancy grows and fertility rates continue to decline, there will continue to be a growth in the elderly segment of the population. The primary focus of policy-makers has been on the economic impacts of this growth, namely in the costs of pensions and policies associated with the medical and social needs of this age group. Equitable concerns about who should pay the costs of such provisions have led to reconsideration among policy-makers of how long people should work before being able to claim the benefits of retirement.

However, though the concept of raising the retirement age has received much attention in research and the popular press, the conditions of work and employment faced by older workers if they are expected or choose to continue working have received limited scrutiny to date.

Concern regarding older workers is not new to the ILO. In the late 1970s, the potential problems faced by aging societies around the world were discussed and debated in detail. The result of these activities was the creation of an international labour standard, the Older Workers Recommendation, 1980 (No. 162). This international standard was intended to frame the issues of concern regarding the employment and work circumstances of older workers and to stimulate action to improve them. Integral to this were provisions addressing the conditions of work and employment of older workers and the issues that needed to be considered when improving their circumstances. Consequently, the Recommendation includes conditions of work and employment provisions on age discrimination, working time and work organization, wages and older workers’ need to address family responsibilities.

Using the ILO Recommendation as a framework, this paper explores these conditions of work and employment issues in greater depth.