Wages Of Pension Age

Course of conviction rather and approach to personal or sectoral convenience at the prospective cost of other segments of society anywhere ruins individual careers and institutional cast and performance. Wilting to pressures postpones a problem but does not resolve its implications without a proper remedy. France’s President Emmanuel Macron had a first-hand experience the ramifications of an unpopular step that he measured with conviction as a solution for the long-term health of his country’s economy. The decision to raise the retirement age for workers from 62 to 64 triggered a wave of protests which the government had, apparently, not anticipated.

The 45-year-old president said that without his new move, the task of economic growth as planned would be extremely difficult. His decision to bypass the National Assembly by invoking a rarely used law to bypass parliament and lift the retirement age through cabinet approval seemed to have angered the workers more. The president was in a defiant and defended his decision, "This reform isn't a luxury, it's not a pleasure, it's a necessity."  He invoked his constitutional power to ram through the reforms without debate at the National Assembly added fuel to the working class’s fire of anger.

Consequence

As a consequence of how his initial response to the dictates by his conscience, a wave street protests not only in the capital Paris but also elsewhere for three months before a resolution quelled the workers on the streets, who had been vociferously and in large numbers protesting against the government’s step. The court of law proved to be the final arbiter. 

Guess, politicians have to be “pragmatic”. Labour groups could console themselves: If not today, some other time, when most segments of the working force would inevitably not only read but also come around to seeing the validity of the writing on the wall for a much needed change. Some countries have 67 as the pensionable age while other have 60 but with reduced retirement allowance as compared to those completing the stipulated upper limit of pensionable age.

Political debates stirred mixed reactions among leaders over the fixing of the retirement age that so fiercely touched a raw nerve of the working class. The furor might sound unfathomable to societies facing unemployment. Those bearing the burden of educated unemployment would be drawn to different type reactions to the protests in Paris. As the demand-and-supply scale works in the labour sector, too, the degree of job prospects determines how incentives at work place are fixed and pensionable age determine. In fact, discourse has been going on for some time now in Europe over the idea of drastically reducing the working hours to four working days.  

Some like working for long, unmindful — in fact, welcoming—the extension of retirement age eligibility. Some want it reduced so that they can finally lead a life of relative ease, do the things they had delayed all along due to one reason or the other. They could meet the people they wanted to converse with or visit the sights they had wanted to but could not afford to do so for lack of time or the pressing need of attending to other chores or issues. Quality of social security provided by the state as well as the goods and services pension spending can fetch are generally the most important factors affecting the manner in which retirees look at retirement age.  

Work culture has its own tale. It reflects the improving or impeding reflection on the country’s difficult history. To what extent labour forces in some countries are so attached to their work place can be gleaned from the fact that Japanese workers are among those taking paid leave the least in the developed world. Some prize as a privilege to work overtime and earn extra unmindful of having to sacrifice leisure opportunity. Others might wish away the prospect of reaching age ceiling. If the work load is found easy to while away time in ways not acknowledged, employees might wish the time for compulsory quitting somehow does not arrive.

Work culture

Work culture boosts or mars the method and quality of governance, reflecting as it does a reflection on a given state’s history. 

In Nepal, general retirement age for several decades stood at 60. Then came the 1992 changes that provided for a three-exit retirement scheme. Civil servants and employees at the state owned corporations were to compulsorily retire at age 58 that is two years earlier than the earlier provision. In addition, there were two other routes to enforcing permanent leave of service. Anyone in service for 20 or 30 years could be shown the exit gate. 

When the court of law was moved on the “discriminatory” retirement policy that created risks of persecution and unfair practices, the verdict thereafter led to amending the retirement regulations. Complete uniformity is such matters covering all sectors and appointments do not operate anywhere. Certain exceptions are made everywhere. Pensionable age for regular employees is by and large the same, with slight variations affecting a select few institutions. But things are predetermined and leave little or no room for manipulation or vendetta. 

Electoral posts accorded special provision as far as age ceiling is concerned, though the number of years or tenures for an individual might be spelt out in the related law. Collective bargaining is a familiar practice in labour organisations in many countries. They focus on conditions at work place, health facilities, pay rise and allowances, but retirement plans extending hiking pensionable age is very rare, that is, cheating at work place is not tolerated but pensions drawn enough to sustain post-retirement life. 

Macron does not have the advantage he had at the time he took office six years ago. Million in the working class cherish the dream of retiring without delay to start a new life without the rigour, if not drudgery, of fixed routine they had for so long. Next time dissatisfied labour unions take to the streets in Paris or other capitals, things could get murkier than earlier. Feeling the pulse of the public and the financial liability entailed will have to be balanced with greater care and ultimate determination.

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)