Russia: New Incentives to Support Economic Activity and Employment of Older People
Encouraging older people's employment is increasingly important for Russia, in terms of improving living standards and making the best use of senior citizens' education and productive potential as contributions to the national economy.
23 September 2016
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A conference held in Russia with the participation from the Federation Council and with the support from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, attended by government ministries and agencies concerned, social partners,
representatives of the academia and civil society, discussed the issues and challenges of designing new government policies to support older people's employment.
According to Mikhail Pouchkin, Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO Moscow Project, "Creating opportunities for older workers to use their potential by engaging in decent work, which takes into account factors such as their health, education, and the proportion of pension in their income, can mobilise a powerful resource for economic development, comparable in terms of its economic impact to the massive entry of women into the workforce in the mid-20th century."
The ILO has developed a series of fundamental documents on older workers, in particular Older Workers Recommendation No. 162 of 1980, stating that older workers' employment should be dealt with in the context of an overall strategy for full employment, including a comprehensive, well-balanced social policy and due attention to all population groups without discrimination. The said Recommendation addresses issues such as equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, including access to healthcare, protection of older workers' rights, remuneration for work, access to pensions, and various approaches and methods which can contribute to decent working conditions for older workers.
The conference adopted a resolution that points out the relevance of the subject in question. In particular, the document states that the social motivation of labour activity of older workers and their commitment to an active life after retirement age are becoming more and more important, amongst others from the perspective of activation of human resources at this momentous stage of the country development.