Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner has come under fire from trade unions for suggesting that older employees should not expect their salaries to keep on rising towards the end of their careers.

The Christian Democrat minister made the remarks in the political TV programme Buitenhof, broadcast on Sunday, in which he defended the government’s plans to raise the retirement age to 67.

Although from 2020 employees will be expected to work on until the age of 67, at present only 28 percent of Dutch people aged over 60 are actually in employment.

Mr Donner said that in the Netherlands the employees’ salaries continue to rise right up until retirement, rather than reaching a plateau as they did in other countries. He said that this acts as a disincentive to employers to keep on older employees, and that this was partly the reason for the low level of employment at the top end of the age range in the Netherlands. At the same time the minister claimed that older employees are less productive.

Deputy chairman of trade union CNV say he was “downright angry” at Mr Donner’s remarks. He accused Mr Donner of stigmatising older workers rather than investing in them.

The trade union federation FNV has also expressed criticism of Mr Donner, arguing that in practice employers would not necessarily be more likely to keep on older employees simply if they were cheaper. The federation argues for a flexible retirement age with extra incentives for people to keep working longer.

Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner - ANP