Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

differences in EU impact are visible in the fact that Germany has equalised retirement ages
of men and women, while in Poland, that issue has been debated since 1997 but no
legislative attempts have been made in the last years, and there is no obligation to do so
(with the exception of third pillar pensions according to Directive 2006/54/EC).
According to neo-classical labour market theory, seniority wages diminish the
recruitment and retention chances of older workforce (Soltwedel/Spinanger 1976). The
seniority principle is strongly developed in wage formation in Poland, in Germany only (till
2005) in the public sector, which locates a bigger barrier to the prolongation of working life
in the Polish case.
While there is a strong legislative and collectively agreed protection of long-standing
workers in Germany, workers in Poland are protected from dismissal only four years prior
to the earliest retirement age. The government sees it as impediment to higher employment
rates and proposes to shorten the period to the previously valid two-year span (MPiPS 2008:
19-20). However, 87 per cent of 650 private and civil service establishments surveyed in
Poland did not perceive any negative employment effects of the longer protection period
(Ipsos 2007: 40). Also with regard to the dismissal protection in Germany, the assessment is
equivocal (contra: OECD 2005: 116, Eichhorst 2006a: 107-8; pro: Aust/Kremer 2007: 119-
120, Naegele 1992: 379, Bosch/Knuth 2003: 137; Behrens 1999: 91), therefore it can
neither be assessed as a barrier nor an opportunity for prolonged employment.
An ambiguous assessment also prevails with regard to the anti-discrimination legislation
in Germany and Poland, as its impact is reduced by several exceptions which still make an
ageist policy possible (Kocher 2005; Ruppert 2006; Sadlik 2007; Maniewska 2006).
Nevertheless, the anti-discrimination legislation may raise the awareness of employers for
latent discrimination and, by omitting age bars in job advertisements, encourage older jobseekers
to apply. Moreover, a non-discriminatory working climate raises productivity and
work morale (Dunn 2005: 70-72; Roßnagel 2008: 69-70).
A chance for the prolongation of working life is the declared political will in both
countries to end the early exit trend (see the “National Strategy Reports” in FMoHSS 2005
and MSP 2005). Moreover, the disability pathway has been closed by applying medical
criteria to the entitlement check. Early retirement in Germany is connected to malus
payments. In Poland, a law abolishing early retirement for women and for workers in
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