[The elderly citizen and the right to work]

Elderly working people in the GDR form a group who enjoy special protection under labour legislation and a special legal status. This group covers all gainfully employed old age pensioners, all employees within five years of retirement age as well as other elderly employees who have not yet reached that stage but who display medically certified debilities associated with old age. The provisions of the Labour Code of the GDR relating to the group termed "elderly working people" are based on the premise that their employment status must be subject to special protection and that their rights must be defined in a specific manner so that no social disadvantages may result from existing or potential age-specific differences, the aim being to ensure equal conditions for those with reduced physical capacity. The right to work, which in the GDR is guaranteed for all citizens, presupposes additional provisions of a protective nature for this group. Elderly people are thus able to participate voluntarily and consciously in the production process in keeping with social requirements and their personal qualifications.