News

On 11 February 2016, on the occasion of the plenary meeting of their social dialogue committee, UNI Europa Commerce and EuroCommerce agreed on an updated version of the guidelines on age diversity (signed in 2002). Both social partners are convinced that increasing the employment rate of older workers with a view to deal with the shortage of labor is essential for the sector. For both the Commission and social partners, active aging remains a priority area for action.

The revised version of the guidelines emphasize that appropriate strategies are needed to maintain the flow of labor supply and secure employability of all workers, especially at a time when the unemployment crisis became a problematic issue in many countries.

Technology advances and the increasing demands for digital skills means that all workers of all ages should have access to (re)training measures. Upskilling and reskilling should be age neutral, a change of mentality regarding elderly workers is needed.

While modern technologies and ergonomics solutions can mitigate the negative effect of strenuous and physically demanding tasks, social partners recognise their mutual responsibility to maintain good health conditions for ageing employees.

Finally, social partners stress their joint commitment to define and implement comprehensive strategies on active ageing, through social dialogue and collective bargaining.