Unison general secretary Dave Prentis has challenged MPs aged over 65 years to spend a day collecting council bins or working in a hospital, in order to raise awareness of the challenges facing older workers.

Unison threw down the gauntlet to MPs who have backed an increase in the retirement age after a new study, commissioned by the union, indicated that more than 50% of workers aged between 60 and 65 have some form of long-standing illness, disability or infirmity.