A RETIREMENT crisis will see almost half of workers leave Scotland’s public sector within just 10 years, it is claimed.
The Unison union claims an ageing workforce means as many as 40 per cent of staff will quit their posts in the next decade.
According to research by the union, the average public sector employee is aged 45, with a “small increase” in the number of people working past state retirement age.
It found the 50-60 age group is the largest growing age band as a proportion of the workforce and says this means there will be “huge consequences for service delivery” as more and more people end their careers.
In its Ageing Workforce paper, the union said: “Local government has borne the brunt of austerity with nine out of 10 job losses coming from the council workforce. It is therefore not surprising that this is an ageing workforce.
“There is a similar age profile in non-departmental public bodies with 40 per cent of the workforce over 50. The youngest sector is universities and colleges with 33 per cent of workers over 50 years of age.
“Staffing numbers in NHS Scotland have just returned to pre-crash levels.
“However, the age profile has also increased, which implies that younger staff are not attracted to work for the NHS. This may be a consequence of pay restraint, job demand, shifts and working conditions in the NHS.”
Turning to health and safety, it went on: “As the workforce gets older there is an increasing likelihood of burnout due to physical and emotional stress.
“Workplaces need to get a lot healthier if we are to address this issue and jobs will need to be redesigned to reflect age factors.
“The number of people with dementia is forecast to increase to over one million by 2025 and two million by 2051. It is estimated that 18 per cent already continue to work after diagnosis, creating a new workplace safety issue that few employers are even recognising.”
Dave Watson, head of public affairs at the union, said: “There are big issues to consider, including the delivery of public services, sustainability of pension funds and health and safety at work. We also must look at how we recruit a new younger workforce.
“Few employers have a strategy for dealing with an ageing workforce or are even discussing the issue. As a country, especially with Brexit, we need to start planning for the future.”
A spokesperson for council umbrella body COSLA said “All councils have a duty to annually update their workforce plans. Demographic profiling of the local government workforce is an essential part of what councils do but managing workforce, recruitment, development and retention is a constant challenge in an age of austerity and reduced budgets.”
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