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Mandatory Retirement at the Age of 60?

Essay Instructions:
Argument Essay: This assignment has three components: 1.Read the attached article. 2.Write a well-developed, coherent argumentative essay of 5-6 paragraphs in response to the questions "Mandatory retirement should be restricted to age 60 in situations where public safety is involved, such as airline pilots and firefighters. Agree or disagree". 3.Reference the article to support your thesis. Make sure to document your references accurately using the MLA format. You must use a minimum of two references from the article. Article: A pilot's quest to remain No. 1 Globe & Mail (Toronto, Canada) , March 12, 2011 Byline: BRENT JANG AIRLINES TRANSPORTATION REPORTER He's No. 1. His name is Michael Ennis, and the Air Canada captain is at the very top of the seniority list of the airline's 3,039 pilots. That means he has one of the best jobs in Canadian aviation, choosing the destinations he wants to fly on the carrier's wide-body Boeing 777s. The trouble is that he will turn 60 in April, and under the collective agreement between the airline and the Air Canada Pilots Association, he will be forced out of his job on May 1. In this latest chapter in the long-running battle over the airline's controversial mandatory-retirement policy, Mr. Ennis filed a complaint Friday with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, arguing that the union is declining to represent him in his quest to stay No. 1 at Air Canada until he turns 65. Seniority is crucial because it determines which pilots win better-paid assignments on larger planes, and sets priorities for vacation time. Knowing that Air Canada's mandatory-retirement rule won't be changing any time soon, Mr. Ennis has landed a job with Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines. He will start May 2, one day after he is formally removed from Air Canada's pilot seniority list. For Mr. Ennis, the assignment with Turkish Airlines will be a step down in pay and prestige, but he is adamant about working beyond 60. "My first choice is to stay with Air Canada," he said in an interview from his home in Oakville, Ont., before heading for a workout at a local gym. "I'm in good shape. Everybody says I don't look like I'm turning 60, for sure." Mr. Ennis, who started at Air Canada shortly after his 21st birthday in 1972, loves his job. "I'm No. 1, so I go wherever I want," he said, listing some of the routes he flies - Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, London, Paris and Frankfurt. Air Canada and Turkish Airlines are both members of the Star Alliance of global carriers, but it just won't be same with the new employer, he said. "It's not right that I have to leave Canada," Mr. Ennis said. "The world has changed, and many other airlines have changed it to retiring at age 65, but not Air Canada." Through Internet-based phone services such as Skype, he plans to stay in touch with his wife, Barbara, a former Air Canada flight attendant, and their son Ben, 27, and daughter Katie, 24. Pilots with Mr. Ennis's experience earn $230,000 a year and qualify for a pension of $10,000 a month if they retire at age 60. At Turkish Airlines, it is estimated that he will earn $150,000 annually. "My wife knows that I would be a wreck if I stopped working," said Mr. Ennis, who rose to the top of Air Canada's seniority rankings in February, 2010, and has been in the top 10 for the past four years. But his wish to stay in the job is opposed by many of his colleagues. Capt. Cory Brown, 33, said extending the retirement age to 65 will penalize younger pilots. "Seniority is your entire life because seniority affects everything. When these older pilots say they want to work past the age of 60, it's going to affect my lifestyle," said Mr. Brown, who flies the 93-seat Embraer jet for Air Canada, mostly on routes within North America. The Ontario-based pilot, who earned $113,000 last year, said older pilots should view it as their duty to "pass the torch" to younger colleagues. Union officials argue that an internal survey of Air Canada pilots last year showed that 82 per cent of the respondents favoured keeping the retirement age at 60 or younger. A group called the Fly Past 60 Coalition, however, is backing Mr. Ennis in his fight against Air Canada and the union representing the airline's pilots. Raymond Hall, a lawyer and retired Air Canada pilot who heads the coalition, said there are more than 150 other retired pilots seeking to fly again. Mr. Hall filed the complaint Friday to the Canada Industrial Relations Board on behalf of Mr. Ennis and two other pilots, Brad Ellis and Andrew Clark, who allege that their union unfairly refused to initiate grievances. The union rejects the allegations and plans to respond. BRENT JANG Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2011 Bell Globemedia Interactive. http://www(dot)globeandmail(dot)com Source Citation: "A pilot's quest to remain No. 1." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 12 Mar. 2011: B10. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. Document URL http://lcweb(dot)senecac(dot)on(dot)ca:2161/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=News&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA251255099&mode=view&userGroupName=king56371&jsid=9df303e7b5b8ff68859d9f68154d3626 Gale Document Number: GALE|A251255099
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AUTHOR`S NAME
LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE.
INSTITUTION
Mandatory Retirement at the Age of 60. Is It Right?
Nobody ever wants to think of retirement. First and foremost, to some people, retirement means goodbye to ones earnings. This takes a huge toll especially on those who consider themselves to be earning well. For others, it is a huge loss as it marks an end to their passion; what they love to do that they would be willing to do it for no pay. What really does retirement mean? In some cases, people retire out of their own volition. No coercion is needed to get them out of ‘power`. They look at it as a time to take a break and enjoy the fruit of their labor. Nevertheless, some people are ‘forced into retirement. This is known as mandatory retirement. Mandatory retirement is a provision given by the law or industrial custom for specific job descriptions. One then asks, "Why is such a provision given for specific job types and for what reasons?"
Mandatory retirement is prescribed in occupations that are deemed to be dangerous or demand high cognitive and physical skill. These include firefighters, military personnel, air traffic controllers and airline pilots. Different countries prescribe different ages of retirement but generally, it lies from 60 to 70. The main reason given for this legislation is that it is look out for the safety of the public. In the event, that a 67 year old pilot failed to man the airship as expected, the lives of many would be in jeopardy. If the 70 year old fireman was slow in running up the stairs to save a baby`s life, the baby would die not because they could not be saved. It would simply be because the firefighter was too old to act swiftly. Thus, in the long run, there is need to consider other people`s safety.
In addition to that, those subjected to mandatory retirement enjoy good retirement benefits. The incentives are packaged in a way that tries to ensure one doesn`t feel the pinch of having lost their job. In some cases, they only cease to go to the field but may be retained as advisory support. This shows that the organizations they work for acknowledge them as investments and would hate to lose them. According to the National Business Aviation Association (2011), a pilot who has reached sixty years is not allowed to act as pilot in command of an aircraft. Clearly, it does not mean that they lose their jobs but rather they co-pilot.
Furthermore, it is argued that mandatory retirement is beneficial to the younger employees who also seek to rise in ranks. The only way they can d...
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