Forced retirement is ‘age discrimination’, head of Hong Kong’s Elderly Commission tells local businesses
Lam Ching-choi has urged companies to reconsider mandatory retirement at 60 or 65 as the city faces a shrinking labour force and a rapidly ageing population
Employers that force staff to retire after they have reached a certain age are being “totally unwise” and are practising age discrimination, a member of the city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s cabinet said on Sunday.
Lam Ching-choi, 57, who heads the Elderly Commission tasked with advising the government on its policies for seniors, said an employee’s ability had nothing to do with age.
“Asking a person to suddenly stop working and contributing to society can lead to health hazards,” the Executive Council member said at a forum organised by the Institute for Politics and Governance and the Sustainable Development Research Institute.
“In the face of an ageing population and a shrinking labour force, asking someone to stop working because of the person’s age is totally unwise. It’s even more unwise for it to happen in a place without a universal retirement scheme.”