ARGENTINA
Over 40 and Jobless?
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By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES (IPS) - Tired of
being sidelined in the job market
because he was over 40, an Argentine
computer specialist created a labour
exchange for people his age and older,
which in just a few months grew to
nearly 6,000 people.
"We want a fair employment law, that
makes it illegal to discriminate on the
basis of age," said Roberto Matera, 42,
who created the Empleo para Mayores de
40 (Jobs for People over 40) or E+40 web
site.
Matera, who has years of experience in
computers, says he lost his job two
years ago and began to look for work, in
classifieds and on-line web sites,
without success. "They told me 'no' even
when all I had done was send them my
curriculum vitae (CV), because I was
already 40," he told IPS.
Desperate, he decided to modify the date
of birth on his CV, and finally got a
first interview, and then a second for
the same job. "But when they selected me
and I had to get the pre-employment
check-up, I told the truth, and they
turned me down," he said.
The company's human resources adviser
told him there were no exceptions to the
requisite of being under 40, even though
he had already made it through the
interview process, in which he was found
to have the skills, aptitude and
technical knowledge necessary for the
job.
Because of his own personal experience,
in late 2009 Matera began to create an
on-line labour exchange for people over
40. "I did it from home, enlisting my
friends and acquaintances. But then it
just took off," he said.
The http://www.empleosparamayores.com.ar/
web site currently has 5,700 names and
76 employers offering jobs in different
production and services fields. The key
to attracting ads was that the job
offers and requests are published for
free.
Job seekers also share their experiences
on the Empleos para Mayores page on the
Facebook social networking site.
"Rejection kills you inside, and the
worst thing is that you're given the
psychological tests by psychology
students who treat you as if you were an
idiot," Walter Alba wrote.
To which Carmen Costa responded: "At
least you made it to the psychological
tests. Just because I'm a woman, I can't
even respond to an ad that asks for
'male' administrative staff, with
experience, under 28."
The E+40 web site monitors ads published
in Argentine newspapers and magazines or
on-line and talks to companies, human
resources departments and employment
agencies, to raise awareness on the
issue, Matera said.
Employers set forth different arguments
to justify ageism: that it's cheaper to
hire young people, that recruiters
prefer them, or that it's easier and
better for a company to mould young
people instead of hiring someone set in
their ways.
"But there are others who value
experience, and who see that older
people offer the advantage of already
having raised their children and having
more flexible schedules," said Matera,
who now has five others working with him
on the web site, each one from their own
home.
In this South American country of 40
million people, the unemployment rate is
8.3 percent, while under-employment
stands at 9.2 percent. Studies by
private consultancies estimate that more
than 30 percent of the jobless are over
40.
But besides those who are unsuccessfully
looking for work, there are others who
have given up and stopped looking and do
not even figure in the statistics as
unemployed.
Juan Ruffo, 54, has been looking for a
job for two years. He says he's too old
to find work, but far too young to
retire, since retirement age for men is
65. "There aren't ads for people over
40, let alone for people over 50," he
told IPS. "There's work out there, but
not for me."
Ruffo worked for more than 30 years in
restaurants, as a kitchen assistant or
waiter. "I always found jobs through
contacts in restaurants, and I moved
from one job to another, but now the
people I know aren't in the business
anymore or are dead."
He not only put a job search request on
the E+40 web site but is helping to make
the labour exchange work. "We're not
anti-young people; we want to work
together with them," he said.
A study carried out by the governmental
National Institute against
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism
found that 22 percent of all of the ads
posted in classifieds and on-line openly
discriminated against people over 40.
Only 11 percent of the 3,668 ads studied
did not discriminate on any grounds. The
rest, instead of referring strictly to
qualifications, set limits on things
like gender, age, social condition,
physical appearance, marital status or
nationality.
The Labour Ministry has more than 30
employment and skills and job training
plans and programmes, some of which
specifically target young people or the
disabled, for instance. But there are no
training or job-search programmes geared
to people over 40.
"Labour laws protect from discrimination
people who are employed , but there is
no law for those of us who are looking
for work," said Matera. "That means an
employer can put out an ad for a blonde
secretary whose measurements are
90-60-90, and it's perfectly legal."
E+40 is collecting signatures for a
draft law that would make it illegal to
discriminate on any grounds when hiring,
and would create penalties for companies
or employment agencies that set
requirements beyond skills, aptitude and
qualifications.
More than 42,000 signatures have already
been gathered, and the initiative has
the support of several legislators who
have promised to study it and eventually
introduce it to Congress. |
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