International Day for Older Persons - Joint ETUC and FERPA statement

On the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons on1st October 2024, the European Federation of Retired and Elderly People (FERPA) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) wish to recall and underline the role and place of retired people in Europe.

Pensioners and older people are still excluded from all decision-making processes that affect their living conditions and social rights. Their consultation, recommended by the UN and UNECE, is still far from being applied.

If older people are to be recognised, we need to combat all the stereotypes that lead to ageism that obscures the value of their experience and, instead, to ensure their involvement in decision-making processes that affect them.

All FERPA organisations are seizing the opportunity of 1st October to mobilise, with the support of the ETUC, in defence of their rights by making their voices and those of older people heard.