OPSEU is marking June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
Elder abuse is essentially a violation of an individual's rights to dignity, respect and self worth. Elder abuse can be seen in various forms; physical, emotional, financial and neglect.
The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day continues to gain significance in Canada's Employment Sector, and especially within the context of an ageing work force. Bill 211 was enacted as Chapter 29 of the Statutes of Ontario in 2005. This Bill provided for the 'Ending Mandatory Retirement Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005'.
The direct outcome of this Bill was the amendment of the Ontario Human Rights Code which eliminated age 65 as the mandatory retirement age in Ontario. The Ontario Human Rights Commission endorsed this amendment by acknowledging that mandatory age retirement presented complex issues, the root of which was an assumption that older workers are less productive, less committed to their jobs, or less dynamic and receptive to change; especially technological. The Commission also took the position that mandatory retirement age was a serious form of age discrimination, and that it took away the individual's right to contribute to society, therefore diminishing self worth and denying the worker the means to earn a livelihood.
Mandatory age retirement is no longer a legal requirement in Canada. Employers are therefore increasingly faced with the challenges of managing complexities that an ageing workforce presents. A unionized work environment is fundamental in protecting and enforcing workers rights. Unions, including OPSEU, ensure that anti-discrimination policies and behaviors in the work place are developed and enforced in order to protect workers against age related discrimination; which
is a major violation of basic human rights as Code protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
OPSEU is the union of choice. We will therefore continue to advocate for workers by continuing to negotiate collective agreements that protect the dignity and respect of all workers, irrespective of age. The emerging needs of an aging workforce will be negotiated and integrated in employer policies and procedures, including:
- Accommodation policies that incorporate code-based human rights such as disability and family status (the need for workers to be absent to care for aging spouses or other aging family members);
- Protection of employee benefits plans, especially heath-related benefits and retirement plans that protect the worker's right to a financially acceptable retirement;
- Ensuring that members' grievances related to absenteeism, performance, and age-related dismissals are vigorously defended through arbitration, the grievance process, or the Human Rights Tribunal;
- Training that is designed to increase knowledge and awareness of age discrimination in the work force, including how to recognize and protect the membership from age-based systemic discrimination.
Workers' rights are human rights and discrimination on the basis of age is against the law and violates the Ontario Human Rights Code.
The links below provide additional information.
http://www.un.org/en/events/elderabuse/
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/time-action-advancing-human-rights-older-ontarians/employment