Punjab’s Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta Advocates Employment Rights for Senior Citizens

Punjab’s Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta Advocates Employment Rights for Senior Citizens

New Delhi, Jan 30: Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta today raised a critical national concern during Zero Hour in the Upper House, highlighting the need for comprehensive employment rights for senior citizens in India.

Addressing the Chair, Gupta emphasized that India is undergoing a rapid demographic transition, with the population aged 60 years and above exceeding 140 million—a figure projected to reach nearly 350 million by 2036. With life expectancy approaching 70 years, the nation possesses a vast pool of healthy, skilled, and experienced senior citizens capable of contributing productively beyond conventional retirement age.

Gupta expressed concern over the absence of a comprehensive legal framework to address age-based discrimination in employment or to formally recognize the right to work post-retirement based on ability rather than age. While Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution guarantee equality and equal opportunity, age-based exclusion remains prevalent, particularly in the private sector and across formal and informal employment, with limited legal protections or recognition.

Highlighting global practices, Gupta noted that developed nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, Canada, and Japan have implemented progressive legislation to promote active ageing. In Japan, where nearly 29% of the population is above 65 years, age-based employment discrimination has been removed, enabling continued workforce participation of older citizens.

Urging timely policy intervention, Gupta appealed to the Government to introduce a comprehensive legal framework to:

• Prevent age-based discrimination in employment

• Enable the right to work beyond retirement for willing and capable senior citizens

• Create flexible, dignified, and safeguarded employment opportunities

He emphasized that such reforms would not only uphold constitutional values but also unlock the economic, social, and intellectual potential of India’s ageing population.