The Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs has of late last year adopted a stricter stance on the issuance of applications and extensions for the retentions of service for pensioners, on account of the current economic crisis, and the sheer volume of job seekers available on the domestic labour market.

During a press conference held yesterday afternoon, principal secretary for employment Jules Baker noted a spike in the number of applications requesting for retention of service beyond retirement age towards the end of last year, resulting in the decision, which seeks to ensure that youths are not left behind and are given equal opportunities to actively participate in the labour market and domestic economy.

“The Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs recently, especially late last year, has realised that there is more, and coupled with that, we also observed an increase in redundancies, an increase in persons losing their jobs especially with regard to the Unemployment Relief Scheme (URS) and My First Job scheme. So, there are more jobseekers on the labour market who can take over the jobs that are currently being occupied by persons who are soon going to reach retirement age,” Mr Baker pointed out.

“We do not want our youths with qualifications who are pursuing their chance to access the labour market to be neglected or pushed aside because persons benefitting from pension do not want to leave. There needs to be a balance. If the law makes provision for retirement, and in a normal time such as early 2020, where we didn’t have so many youths on the labour market seeking employment, there would be no issues there, but considering the actual situation, whereby there is not even a need for understudy within an organisation as there are youths that are ready to take up the post, we find ourselves in a situation whereby we make a decision, to allow youths to enter equally and compete for jobs available on the labour market,” PS Baker explained.

Presently, social security laws stipulate that the retirement age is 63, although there were discussions under the previous administration to increase the age to 65. However, employment laws make provisions for employers to on behalf of employees, apply to the ministry for approval to retain employees who have reached retirement age, and approvals granted based on the labour market and situation at the time of the request.

According to PS Baker, the department over the course of 2020, approved 82 applications from governmental entities, 56 of 58 applications from private organisations, and a further 36 of 38 requests from parastatal organisations. Applications are granted for up to one year, and repeat applications are accepted.

Despite having approved the majority of applications over the past year, PS Baker noted that the employment and labour situation has changed drastically since then, warranting a different approach, at least for the time being, until the labour market stabilises once again.

“We tried to strike a balance with the decision, not to approve and give opportunities for young people. You will realise that there are a lot of young people, who are qualified and registered, and they also need to join the labour market and participate, so we are going to be stricter during this period, but we will probably review the decision next year depending on the Covid-19 situation, because we still see that there is a generation gap between those heading onto retirement, and those taking up new employment opportunities on the labour market. This will ensure that we balance both the interests of the younger generation, and at the same time, making sure that the older generation doesn’t lose out because of retirement age, but that they are here to ensure that there is continuity of business,” PS Baker added.

Since the beginning of the year the ministry has been stricter in granting approvals for such requests, leading to many complaints from persons who have reached retirement age, but still want to remain in employment. In going forward, it is essential that industrial relations between employees and employers improve for two main reasons, namely to prepare persons who are reaching retirement age for retirement, as well as to prepare the organisation for the departure of the employee, for instance through establishing succession plans ahead of the employees retirement, so as to give to competent and qualified youths opportunities to progress and advance within the organisation.

Despite the enforcement of stricter measures for the present time, warranted by the economic crisis, it is likely that the decision will be revised next year, PS Baker added, on account that Seychelles has an ageing population and the generational gap in the labour market. As was the case before, some exceptions may apply for specialised posts including doctors and educators, and other technical fields, where talent is limited in the labour market.

Laura Pillay