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In welcoming the call by Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to extend the retirement age in the
civil service, he said Malaysia currently had the lowest retirement age and among
the highest life expectancies in the world.
<P>"The only real concern
is that increasing the retirement age may deny another younger person’s entry
into the workforce. The government has always maintained we have almost full employment
anyway, so this is not an issue," he said in a statement here.</P><P>In calling
for a review of the retirement age for civil servants, the Prime Minister had
said that such an exercise should take into account the longer lifespan and better
health enjoyed by Malaysians now.</P><P>Civil servants who reached the current
retirement age of 56 would possess a wealth of experience that they could still
contribute to the government, he added.</P><P>Lo said studies had shown that an
increase in retirement age could address issues pertaining to rapid increase in
life expectancy, reduce pension cost and burden on governments to provide healthcare,
and ensure overall productivity and adequate savings when workers finally retire.</P><P>The
MTUC also disputed the views that those who were retiring now would deny promotional
opportunities for younger employees, he said.</P><P>"Such views are only
valid in old-fashioned human resource thinking that promotion should be based
on age and seniority.</P><P>"Promotion must be based on relevant skills and
competency as in a rapidly changing environment, experience is only useful if
it is relevant experience.</P><P>"The alternative of engaging retirees on
a year-to-year contract is limited to high-ranking officials, which in itself
actually denies those immediately below them promotion opportunities," he
added. — BERNAMA</P><P><I>Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=245586</I>
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com