A provincial government in eastern China is relaxing the upper age limit for construction workers to help resolve labor shortage issues at construction sites, as the country contends with an aging society and blue-collar workforce, reports Nikkei Asia.
China’s national retirement age is 60 for men and as early as 50 for women, but Jiangsu province is allowing laborers who are past retirement age to continue working on construction sites. According to a notice published by the province’s Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on May 25, 10% of a company’s workforce at a construction site can be up to five years over the national retirement age for men, or up to 10 years over for women.
The number of overage workers will be regulated through a code that classifies each worker based on their age, health and safety training status. Men between the ages of 60 and 65 and women 55 to 60 years old will be given a yellow code, implying a certain level of risk, along with others who have health issues or other safety risks. Project managers will receive warnings if the proportion of this group exceeds 10%. They will also be allowed to employ two “red-code” workers, a category that includes men older than 65 and women over 60.
