Employers should have option of retaining retirees in the Philippines

This call was made by Sergio Ortiz-Luis, President of Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), who explained that mandating hiring and retaining workers of retirement age could discourage investors, prevent the entry of a new batch of workers and have an impact on the stability of the pension and benefit funds such as the Social Security System (SSS) and Pag-IBIG Fund.

This comes after Senior Citizens Party-List Representative Rodolfo Ordanes, in House Bill 3220, has proposed that an employee who reached the age of 65 could opt to continue their employment provided he qualifies under the bona fide occupational qualifications of his job.

READ: Increase in the number of elderly workers in the Philippines

However, Ortiz-Luis said the planned amendments to the Labour Code should still set a mandatory retirement age for workers and employers should be given the option of whether to retain the worker.

“It should be [a] management prerogative. We have no problem with extending the retirement age, but employers should have the option to retain the employee. They should not be held criminally liable if they reject [an applicant past retirement age],” Ortiz-Luis said, adding factors like health, productivity and capability are all considered in hiring and retaining workers, according to Malaya Business Insight.