Besides all the usual problems associated with aging, many Ukrainians are finding there’s one more: joblessness.
More than a quarter of Ukrainians say that they have suffered age-based discrimination while trying to get a job, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Social Studies, a local non-government organization.
And there’s almost nothing they can do about it, even if they win a court case against the illegal practice.
A third of unemployed Ukrainians are between 40 and 59, according to the same survey. The country has an estimated 1.7 million unemployed citizens, but only about 500,000 of them are officially registered as unemployed.
Alina Savchenko, the head of a department in Shturman travel agency, says when her agency is recruiting workers, the ads claim that anyone under 35 is considered a candidate. In reality, she says, the employer favors women under 25.
Effectively, this is double discrimination – by age and by gender, and both are illegal in Ukraine, where the Constitution provides for equal rights for all.
Savchenko explains that employees start off as unpaid interns, and when they eventually get hired, the base salary is small. “We can’t ask mature people over 30 with a lot of experience to work for the starting salary,” she says.
Experts say that employers fear hiring older people because they are viewed as less creative, less diligent, less efficient and more demanding as far as benefits go.
“Older people are usually accused of lack of flexibility and lack of obedience to superiors,” says Viktor Pushkar, a social psychologist. “But this stigma is mostly groundless. Older people do need more social guarantees, but this is natural.”
A recent study by the Kharkiv Institute of Social Studies which analyzed 7,000 employment ads, found that 15 percent of all printed ads and 58 percent of online ads contain age requirements for job seekers.
Lina Getmanenko said she was denied “dozens and dozens of interviews” because of her age. She only turned 40 at the time. Some employers would get rude to her when she tried to convince them to invite her to an interview.
“Are you blind? The ad clearly says we need a person under 35,” some would shout, she says.
Getmanenko was told that people over 40 are more psychologically unstable. At the time, she was looking for a job as an English teacher for small children, and could not understand why it mattered whether the teacher was 35 or 40 years old.
Getmanenko now works as a Thai massage salon administrator. She took the job out of desperation, and had to convince the employer to invite her to the interview because the ad said they would only hire a female under 38.
Getmanenko was surprised to hear that the law is on her side that even employment ads with age limits are banned by a new law signed by the president just days ago. It will come into effect in January.
But even when age discrimination is proved in court, employers have nothing to fear. Igor Yasinskiy, a 50-year-old resident of Kharkiv, won a lawsuit against Factor-Druk publishing company when it refused to employ him as a storekeeper because of his age. The company had to pay Hr 238 in court fees – that’s all.
“I didn’t get any compensation for moral damage. The judge has decided I didn’t suffer enough to get it,” he said sadly. “Of course the court could oblige them to employ me, but who would want to work in such an atmosphere now?”
Yasinskiy says he didn’t feel protected, but still thinks people should fight for their rights.
The new law that will come into effect in 2013 bans employers from demanding any private information about job seekers. It also guarantees that the government will subsidize anyone aged over 45 with 15 or more years of working experience who need to learn a new skill to become more employable.
Iryna Akimova, deputy head of the president’s administration, said the government will issue a voucher worth Hr 11,000 for a person to receive new training. She also said that the government will exempt companies from paying the single social tax for a year if they hire older employees, those who are raising disabled children and young people entering the job market. The tax currently can go up to 50 percent of the salary, depending on the job.
Recruiters are not impressed, though. Anna Voyevodna, head of judicial department of HeadHunter, says that the tax will still have to be paid if the worker is fired less than two years after the date of hiring, which takes away any potential attraction for the employer. She says the vouchers for retraining are unlikely to work, either.
“The law says that [retraining] can be provided if the state employment center has financial capability, but knowing the economic situation in the country we can easily say that the chances are low,” she said.
Kyiv Post staff writer Daryna Shevchenko can be reached at [email protected].
