The good news is that the government has finally abolished the default retirement age (DRA) from 1 Ocober 2011. We should rejoice that progressive forces have won out. It will now will be extremely hard for Universities to get rid of people at 65, although one can expect some to try every trick to do so.
This leaves our vice-chancellors the opportunity for one final cull, and it appears from many messages to the editor that, true to form, they will be wielding their clubs right up to midnight on 31 September 2011.
It has been a constant theme of these pages that not a single vice-chancellor that we know about has taken a progressive line and led the way in abolishing the DRA in their own institution last year or this year, when it was already known the rules would change. This means that the charge of ageism must stick.
These pages will not be taken down. We will continue to fight the cause of those threatened this year, to monitor for attempts by universities to circumvent the new rules and to stamp out ageist discrimination against those in post retirement jobs, such as emeritus staff.
