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Concern is being raised that a proposal to raise the retirement age in Jamaica will have negative implications for the country's work force.
There are fears that if more persons are allowed to work longer years it will reduce the availability of jobs and crowd out new entrants into the already tight job market.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding disclosed at Sunday's 67th annual conference of the governing Jamaica Labour Party that an extension of the retirement age could be on the horizon.
Pointing to the increased cost of providing pension for public sector workers, Mr. Golding said his administration was seriously exploring the idea.
But Helene Davis-Whyte, General Secretary of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO), says this could hamper the employment prospects of thousands of Jamaicans just coming into the work force.
"There has to be some kind of balancing act because you are not creating additional jobs and without additional jobs being created, what you're basically doing is waiting on someone to leave employment to be replaced by younger persons coming in. That is something that has to be watched closely," said Mrs. Davis-Whyte on RJR's daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond the Headlines Monday evening.
The official retirement age in Jamaica is 60.
It is reported that 10% of the population, or about 280,000 persons, are already at, or have passed the retirement age.
There are fears that if more persons are allowed to work longer years it will reduce the availability of jobs and crowd out new entrants into the already tight job market.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding disclosed at Sunday's 67th annual conference of the governing Jamaica Labour Party that an extension of the retirement age could be on the horizon.
Pointing to the increased cost of providing pension for public sector workers, Mr. Golding said his administration was seriously exploring the idea.
But Helene Davis-Whyte, General Secretary of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO), says this could hamper the employment prospects of thousands of Jamaicans just coming into the work force.
"There has to be some kind of balancing act because you are not creating additional jobs and without additional jobs being created, what you're basically doing is waiting on someone to leave employment to be replaced by younger persons coming in. That is something that has to be watched closely," said Mrs. Davis-Whyte on RJR's daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond the Headlines Monday evening.
The official retirement age in Jamaica is 60.
It is reported that 10% of the population, or about 280,000 persons, are already at, or have passed the retirement age.