PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) said it is against the new mandatory retirement age for commercial bank staff, which has been increased to 61 under a collective agreement.

The party, which fights for workers’ rights, said Malaysia should look into ways to offer youth employment to protect senior citizens and address chronic joblessness.

Its deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan told The Malaysian Insight the reality is that many senior citizens do not have enough savings to retire, thus forcing them to continue working.

“We don’t agree in increasing the retirement age because the problem we face now is the high unemployment rate involving our youth, and many of them are going overseas such as Singapore to work.

“We feel that 60 years old as a retirement age is enough. We should be protecting them (senior citizens) at this stage, not forcing them to continue working. The current system we have is a burden.

“It is not that they do not want to retire, but they have no choice. They do not have pension, not enough EPF and savings. While many would support them working, in reality they shouldn’t be working anymore.

“Increasing the retirement age is not the solution. We should address the unemployment rate and look for a mechanism on how to help the elderly who are retiring,” said Arutchelvan.

Last week, National Union of Bank Employees general secretary J. Solomon said commercial bank staff can retire after 61 years old, a year older than most other workers in the country.

The new mandatory retirement age was included in the collective agreement signed with the Malaysian Commercial Banks Association (MCBA).

He said the banks agreed to the union’s request to raise the retirement age to help boost the retirement savings of B40 and M40 workers.

The union had asked for the retirement age to be increased to 65, but the MCBA was concerned about the health of these workers.

Solomon said the extension is subject to workers’ health, and would be voluntary.

Nube president Michael Tan Eng Hong was quoted as saying the decision to raise the retirement age of unionised commercial bank staff is in line with the Employment Act 1955.

Tan told New Straits Times the decision to raise the retirement age from 60 to 61 was a technical matter done legally.

“The current practice for retirement is when the person reaches their 60th birthday, they will retire.

“We negotiated in our collective agreement to enable them to complete their 60th year and retire when they reach 61 years old.”

He said the decision is neither illegal nor in any way contravenes the Employment Act 1955. The act, he said, serves as a minimum standard for employers to follow.

“It’s legal to go above the standard set by the employment act, as long as the collective agreements are agreed upon by all parties,” he said.

Malaysian Trade Union Congress secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor meanwhile said the move should not be enforced in other industries.

He said the workload in the banking sector is very different from that in other industries.

“The work they (bank staff) do is different from other sectors. Most jobs are based on their expertise and we feel other sectors should not copy this move.

“The government should also not impose the mandatory age retirement in other (industries),” he said.

The mandatory retirement age in Malaysia was raised from 55 to 60 in 2013. – May 21, 2023.