When MPs debate the Human Rights Amendment Act next week, there will be one registered nurse of 33 years watching closely to see whether it will include a clause barring age discrimination in Bermuda.Carole Paynter sits on the board of Age Concern and volunteers for the Eliza DoLittle Society.In an interview with The Royal Gazette she said: “I’m a victim of age discrimination.” She listened intently to Community Minister Wayne Scott’s address at Age Concern’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday.Essentially, the Minister said there was no timeline in place but that Government was still looking at prohibiting discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of age. He told the group that more work must be done to prevent unintended consequencesMs Paynter has worked as a nurse in Bermuda for 33 years at the hospital, and as a manager at Packwood Home before moving on to Westmeath for just over four years.“Westmeath made me go because I am 70 years old. The Minister said they’re going to be looking at this as a priority to see what they can do about age discrimination in Bermuda, there are a lot of people are concerned about it,” she said.“When I hear all this talk about age discrimination, as someone who knows first hand I think it’s terrible. There’s quite a number of people who are very able bodied, mentally and physically well who have been let go because of a number at the age of 65.“I’m still able to work not just because I want to, I have to work despite my age because I cannot afford to retire in Bermuda. My husband is 76 and he’s still working full-time and the real shame of it all is when seniors are forced out the door they take all their years of knowledge and experience with them. It’s sad.“My volunteer work with Eliza DoLittle Society helps fill the void, I enjoy it. I’ve always wanted to help other people that’s why I became a nurse in the first place. But I think it’s a very sad situation here in Bermuda, especially in an ageing community.”She said the country would do well to adopt eastern principles she witnessed on a recent trip to Japan.“What I learned there is it’s the people who make a country what it is, they are so committed and they have such a good work ethic, they keep the country going. You’ve heard the saying ‘you could eat off the floor’. You can eat off their roads in Japan, it’s so clean, but each individual seems to be pulling together and that’s the secret.”In Bermuda she said: “They can build all the fancy hotels they want but if you haven’t got the commitment to a job it won’t work. And in Japan they are also very committed to taking care of their elders.“I would like to see the Bermuda Government include age discrimination in law, absolutely,” said Ms Paynter.“Despite my pension, it doesn’t meet your expenses whether you’re renting or whether you own your own home. My house insurance takes my whole year’s pension and in an ageing community like Bermuda the cost of living for seniors is a pressing issue.She concluded: “The birth rate is down but at the same time on the job market it opens up to a lot of foreign help. In one way it’s good but in another it creates a whole lot of other problems.“My mother died and left me a little money, now I have a home and that’s what I did with it. But in no way am I able to live off my pension and I was forced into retirement because of my age, despite the cost of living in Bermuda.”