The Nordic countries also gave in evidence

It is custom to say that the moral qualities and resources of solidarity of a society is measured in terms of the place that it is able to give to his elders. If this is the case, the low participation of seniors in the world of work in Europe highlights the path that we have to go: the employment rate of 55-64 years does not exceed 45 for a goal set at 50 by the Lisbon strategy by 2010 while less than half of the countries of the Union, twelve very accuratelyhad achieved this objective in 2007.

Reaffirm that the seniors have their place in the world of work is yet a requirement simple and virtually "societal": an employee, because it has more than 50 years, is not destined to be discarded. It often remains a dynamic employee, trustee of skills, expertise and experiences that it is designed to transmit and may also, as too often forgotten, update. Innovation is rarely born uniformity: of clones as workers is not the surest way to creativity. Generational brewing may on the other hand, contribute us are convinced.

This is not to minimize the character alienating painful and repetitive jobs. A recent study by the French Ministry of labour stressed that a French employee in three aged 35 to 55 years felt "not being able to do the same work that currently up to 60 years." It is more often employees who deem their work physically but who feel also, for example, not able to learn through their trade: mainly, and unsurprisingly, employees of trade and non-skilled workers. Not so naïve optimism, but not quitting nor: to overcome this problem, an active policy of ages corporate management is essential. The training of senior citizens cannot be absent: it is not a coincidence if Sweden where, is exceptional, more than 45 years receive more training that younger has the rate of employment of senior citizens of the Union.

Economic argument for increasing the employment rate of older, they are well known, needless to recall in detail. Simply, the current financial crisis reminds us the need to preserve retirement systems found in most of the Member States. In this regard, the figures without comments: from Eurostat, with a population which will begin to decline from 2025 the dependency ratio of more than 65 years on the 15-64 years the EU will double by 2050 to reach 50! Need little foresight to understand that the financial pressure on pension benefits will be enormous; even more if senior Europeans work always as little.

Europe has so far been unable to propose a common and collective problem approach. This is not wrong yet have made similar mistakes! In the 1980s, little or less all countries of the Union, faced with the challenge posed by the emergence of mass unemployment, undertook the same deadlock and succumbed to the illusion of a generational Malthusianism shortsighted: exclude active living seniors to "make room for young people". The France provided the cessation of activity before 60 years while the Germany was in early retirement half of seniors 55-59 from years in the former GDR. Even the countries Northern, now constructed examples, massively propelled their older employees in the system of disability: the employment rate of elderly Swedes fell 10 points in the early 1990. But rare were the countries of the Union who succeeded this period to solve the problem of youth unemployment.

If they fourvoyèrent in a same momentum, the Europeans sought in dispersed order to reverse the trend. Some were in the forefront because they could rely on a constructive social dialogue or because they had to respond to an even more pressing demographic imperative that elsewhere. The Sweden belongs to the first category: restore the rate of employment of senior citizens became a Government priority in the second half of the 1990s, relayed by the social partners. It was to break with a culture of premature termination of activity and to make the extension of the latter incentive. At the same time, the idea made its way that increase simultaneously the employment of young people and senior citizens was not only necessary but also possible. The Nordic countries also gave in evidence. The France, one of the poor students of Union employment of senior citizens, since 2003, followed their lead, first tentatively and vigorous way 2006: it is about to adopt a set of very ambitious measures in this area, including one that will require companies to enter into agreements with the representatives of the employees to promote the employment of senior citizens.

For its part, the European strategy for employment, a component of the Lisbon strategy, promotes the exchange of "good practices" which are qualitative assessment instruments; It promotes the convergence setting common objectives and in implementing a "peer pressure". If being sufficient, this approach has been and remains essential: it is one of the rare targets for employment in the Lisbon strategy. The "target" of 50 employment rate of older facilitates the comparison and we ordered, without fetishism, "stay the course" at a time when the crisis resurrected the temptation to "quinquas" employment adjustment variable. Such will also be the subject of a conference organized by the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union on November 24 at le Puy-en-Velay, and entitled "employment of senior citizens: that the future of Europeans is constructed at any age."