OECD Encourages Poland To Promote Longer Working Lives as Vital to Improving Poland’s Future Prosperity

According to the latest OECD report on aging societies, while the percentage of old to younger groups is projected to nearly triple from 22% in 2012 to 63% in 2050 in Poland, the proportion of older people in Poland who are working still remains well below the average for OECD countries. Thus, the OECD concludes in "Working Better with Age in Poland" that "further reforms to encourage active aging and longer working lives are needed in Poland. Employers need to do more to improve working conditions for older workers and reduce the large gender gap in employment.”

The OECD found that, in 2013, the employment rate of 55-64 year olds was 41%, compared with the OECD average of 55%, and it was only 9% for the age group 65-69, compared with the OECD average of nearly 20%. Among its recommendations, the OECD says Poland should:

• Help more women stay longer in the labour market. Further development of care facilities is required to help older women combine work with family responsibilities. Women’s labour market conditions and future pensions should be reformed.
• Concentrate on preventive measures in occupational health services. Local health services should also have prevention and early identification of health risks as priorities.
• Make social dialogue a driving force in the design and implementation of policies to prolong working lives, for example, through projects in the “Solidarity Across Generations” programme, which was renewed in 2013.
• Align employment protection legislation (EPL) across all age groups by abolishing the special protection rules for older workers. This should however be combined with reinforced active labour market measures for older jobseekers to facilitate their quick reintegration into employment.

Source: OECD Press Release (March 27, 2015)