Monash University's battle of the ages

THE academic union is launching a campaign against what it says is age discrimination at Monash University.
It  claims academics with professorships face having to retire once they hit 65.
Monash denies that its statutes are discriminatory, noting that professors only have to "consider" retirement, but has agreed to review them before the end of the year. "The statute, which has been in place for many years, does require professors of the university to consider retirement at age 65, (but) this doesn't preclude employment as a professor beyond age 65," a Monash spokeswoman told The Australian.
But the National Tertiary Education Union claims Monash's reading of the statute means professors lose the right to ongoing employment at the end of the year they turn 65, reducing any bargaining power they may have in negotiating to continue working, such as on reduced hours.
"They go in (to negotiations) pretty powerless," said Monash NTEU branch president, Associate Professor Phil Andrews.
He said decisions on whether ageing professors continue working should be based on performance, just as it is for all staff. The statute only applies to full professors.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/monash-universitys-battle-of-the-ages/story-e6frgcjx-1225932547619