A presidential advisory body for social dialogue has made a proposal on the issue of extending the nation’s retirement age which would obligate companies to hire workers until they are 65 in phases through 2033. 

The Economic, Social and Labor Council unveiled the proposal on Thursday as it disclosed the results of its year-long discussions on the issue of continually employing elderly workers. 

The proposal is regarded to be a compromise as it partially reflects the labor sector’s calls for the legal retirement age to be raised from 60 to 65 while allowing businesses to adjust working hours and duties through labor-management negotiations. 

The proposal is non-enforceable as it is simply a recommendation and does not constitute an agreement among the labor, management and government. 

The council’s discussions on extending the retirement age have come to a halt since the labor sector declared after the December 3 martial law incident that it won’t be taking part in the discussions. 

The matter will likely be revisited after the June 3 presidential elections as key presidential hopefuls have rolled out related campaign pledges.