Age discrimination is set to be outlawed under plans announced by trade secretary Patricia Hewitt.

The move, which would make it illegal for employers to stipulate age requirements in job advertisements, will see many more workers remaining in post until their late 60s.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gerald Imison, joint acting general secretary of ATL, said: "We welcome all attempts to reduce discrimination regards to age. But at the moment the teaching profession is suffering a crisis and if the impression is given that this is part of a campaign coupled with making pensions more difficult to get it will do nothing to attract or retain teachers.

"This emphasises the need to reconsider the pensions issue, so that it is clear that this is not an attempt to trap teachers into jobs for longer periods."

Sue Johnson, head of pensions at ATL, said: "We welcome the flexibility this gives to teachers not to be forced to work until they're 65, when they can draw their pension.

"Although people shouldn't be compelled to retire they shouldn't be compelled mto stay in work either."

Forum Response: Age Concern

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "The date on a person's birth certificate should never be used as the excuse to hand someone their P45.

"The government must not backslide on its commitment to scrap mandatory retirement ages in the workplace.

"Introducing a compulsory retirement age of 70 would do little to stamp out age discrimination and still make it acceptable for age to be used as the arbiter of workplace rights."

Forum Response: Help the Aged

Tessa Harding, head of policy at Help the Aged, said: "Today the government launches the next round of consultation on outlawing age discrimination in employment and training. We welcome this.

"It is absurd that fit and able workers are forced to retire when they do not want to, just because they reach a certain birthday. We are pleased to see that mandatory retirement ages imposed by employers will be made unlawful under the new legislation, and that workers over 65 will have the same employment rights as younger people.

"However, the government seems to be taking a cautious approach: it is consulting on a 'default' retirement age of 70, at which employers would be able to force people to retire without breaking the law; and envisages some circumstances in which a younger retirement age would be allowable.

"If we really want to change employment culture and benefit from the valuable contribution of workers in their 50s and beyond, then we need to be both bold and imaginative; bold legislation and imaginative practice."

Forum Response: Counsel and Care

Martin Green, chief executive of Counsel and Care, told ePolitix.com: "I welcome moves to outlaw discrimination but I hope this will not be used as a way to make people work longer because of the pensions crisis."

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

A spokesman for the IoD told ePolitix.com: "Ageism in the workplace is of course unacceptable, and we welcome any move to prevent it. Research has shown that older workers are under-utilised in the job market, which is bad for businesses and bad for the economy in general."